The House of K
by kimah36
Summary: Taking place almost immediately after the events of Enter the Purple Dragons, the turtles find themselves in even more danger. One enemy is gone, and an old one back from the dead. The Foot Clan is more dangerous than ever, and an alien invasion threatens the whole world, and no one even knows its coming. 2K14 turtles. Leorai, DonniexOC, MikeyxApril
1. Prologue

Prologue – The House of K

 **A/N: Ok so before I jump right into the story let me give new readers a bit of background on what's happening. I'm starting this story off assuming that the readers know certain details, so for all of you who have never read any of my stories before, this will hopefully be a help to you for understanding the upcoming story. I'm gonna try to make this brief but with as much detail as I believe you'll need to read this even if you haven't read the two previous installments.**

 **Predators and Prey** – First in the series. It follows the TMNT gang as they realize for the first time that they are not the only mutants in New York. On a routine patrol they come upon another mutant, Rocksteady, and begin to engage him and his fellow Foot Clan henchmen. The fight is interrupted by Asha, who is a were-lioness, who had been tracking Rocksteady with intent to interrogate and kill him. Rocksteady led an attack on a dojo in Philly that Asha's uncle owned. Her uncle was killed and several children abducted by the foot. She was trying to kill Rocksteady but was stopped by the turtles in their attempt to find out her link to the Foot, and also Rocksteady's. Both Asha and Rocksteady escape the turtles however, leaving them to wonder about the events they witnessed.

Meanwhile, Leonardo had been having clandestine meetings with Karai, who swears to him that Shredder is dead and the Foot Clan more or less disbanded. These meetings had been carrying on for a month, Leo's family completely unaware. However, the mutant Rocksteady revealed that Shredder is indeed alive and the Foot fully operational. Knowing that he had been deceived, Leo confronts Karai who then comes clean about not only Shredder having survived the fall from Sacks tower, but also that she was only lying to him to infiltrate and destroy Leo and his family. Karai also reveals Shredder's ultimate plan of mutating the population of New York in an attempt to control them and thus the city. Knowing the truth and being hurt because he now harbors real feelings for Karai, Leo threatens her life and tells her never to contact him again.

Rocksteady is tasked with delivering arms to the Foot's various hideouts, and in doing so runs into Asha once again for a rematch. The turtles are present, but have been instructed by Splinter not to engage, since Leo was not with them at the time. Asha fights and kills Rocksteady, but is grievously injured in the process and taken back to the turtle's lair to save her life. While there, she reveals her reasons for tracking and fighting the Foot clan, and also her background and information about what she is.

The Foot Clan with the help of Dr. Baxter Stockman, experiment on the children they abducted in an attempt to recover mutagen in their blood. It is discovered that the children are shifters, thus confirming the existence of were-creatures including werewolves. Once confirmed that the children have not been mutated by means of the alien substance, Karai orders them to be killed. Having understood that another possible shifter was responsible for killing Rocksteady, the murder of the children was done in order to draw out this new enemy.

Eventually, the turtles realize that the plan for mutating the populace has been accelerated and they must move quickly to prevent it. The attack happens in Manhattan, and the turtles fight desperately against Bebop, the foot soldiers, and Karai. Seeing chaos break out in the city and knowing his sons are in danger, Splinter along with an injured Asha go to fight alongside the turtles. Leo and Karai are pitted against each other in battle and Leo wins, killing Karai and taking her weapon as a souvenir.

 **Enter the Purple Dragons** – Story picks up a few months after Predators and Prey. The turtles are taking a much needed breather after the incident in Manhattan. With Shredder alive, they have been patrolling more often. Leo and Asha have entered into a romantic relationship, although it is strained by Leo's reluctance to invest his feelings and heart. He still secretly holds feelings for Karai, even though she is dead. Asha acquires a job working at an upscale gentlemen's club which is a frequent go to for foot clan members and their business partners. Unbeknownst to the turtles, Asha is also fulfilling a personal pledge of revenge against the foot by finding and killing them whenever possible.

The turtles notice the crime rate spike as a gang called the Purple Dragons terrorize local neighborhoods. During a patrol, they gain information from one gang member about their leader Hun and his involvement with some guy named Shredder. With this new information, they begin to actively try to find out the link between the gang and the foot.

In the meantime, Shredder has legally taken over Sacks Industries, renamed it Saki Corp, and using it to gain a political and financial stranglehold on the city. A theft of many pharmaceutical drugs made headlines, and Saki Corp is suspected of involvement although they deny it. After researching the stolen drugs, Donatello realizes they are very dangerous and tells his brothers that he fears Shredder could do a lot of damage by having them in his possession. In an attempt to get more information, Asha finally reveals where she is working and that it may be a good source for more information. Leo follows her to keep her safe, but both of them are ambushed by Shredder's newest henchmen, Tiger Claw. Leo and Asha are taken to a hidden facility and tortured, while Asha is used as a guinea pig for testing the new drug.

The drug is called 'rampage', because it causes the victim to become a mindless, vicious killer. Donnie, Raph, and Mikey realize something is wrong because Leo has set his t-phone to self-destruct as a distress signal. The turtles immediately set off to find them, leading them to the secret facility and their capture. The turtle's spend a day or two there being tortured and beaten, before finally escaping.

Mourning Karai's death, the Shredder has become even more evil and cruel. He threatens police chief Sterns for control over the NYPD, and threatens the mayor also in order to gain a further foothold, and to keep authorities from interfering with his plans. His tenuous alliance with the Purple Dragons is short lived, after he orders Rahzar to force the gang members to take the drug themselves, in effect making an army to roam the streets. Hun is furious at the betrayal but is powerless to stop it, and is killed by Rahzar. Hatching his plan, the drugged gang members roam the streets creating mayhem all over the city, while the NYPD, and all other authorities are forced to stand down due to Shredder's hold over them.

The turtles are too injured to fight, and an entire day and night passes without anyone to stop the Foot clan. Eventually, they recover on the second night to end the murder and anarchy. They find themselves in a fight for their lives against Tiger Claw, Xever, and Shredder himself. Raphael is seriously injured in the fight, and Shredder is killed as a result of treachery and betrayal by his own elite guard.

The killing of Shredder throws the foot clan into upheaval as there is now a power vacuum. Shredders elite guard assume the position of power, causing a split among clan members.

 **The Interlude** – This is a collection of one shots that take place almost immediately after the events of last story. April takes the turtles along with Asha and master Splinter on a vacation at her family's old farmhouse. These short stories center primarily on Leo and Asha's relationship, along with a few surprises including Karai's apparent resurrection from the dead, and how the top members of the Foot Clan are handling their new masters.

I highly suggest you read The Interlude if nothing else, since it's main function is to bridge Enter the Purple Dragons with this story The House of K.


	2. Konnichiwa

Each and every one of them stood in silent shock. Donnie had to lower his goggles at least twice to scan her and make sure she was even really there. Even master Splinter was extremely surprised and upset over this intruder's presence. Mikey had his weapons at the ready, but was obviously prepared to follow Leo's lead on the matter. Leonardo stood as his gaze was transfixed on Karai. He couldn't understand how she was standing before him when he was sure he had killed her. Even now he recalled the feeling of his blade as it pierced her, spilling her blood on the pavement and watching her die. Raphael was breathing hard, sai ready and inching towards her.

"What the fuck are you doin' here Karai?" Raph's tone was little more than a growl. Karai was standing defensively with her hand poised near the hilt of the sword Leo had gotten from her. She had not only been in his room, but had also gone through his personal things. Leo was more than pissed off. How dare she? After all that had happened, all the lies, the deceit, forcing him to kill her or at least believe he had, all because she didn't have the sense or the guts to do then what she was doing right now; come home with him. She had some nerve indeed.

"I had nowhere else to go," she said looking intently at Leonardo, as though through telepathy she could get him to see just how true it was this time. Knowing that she had spoken those very words untruthfully before, she could only hope for mercy from him now. "My father is dead…." She didn't know how to finish that sentence without begging.

"Good," Raph said not caring if it hurt her or not, but hoping that it did. "Now you can join him!"

Raph lunged at her. Karai dodged, blocking his sai with her sheathed sword and then rolled backwards avoiding a kick aimed for her head, and got back into a crouching defensive position.

"Enough!" Splinter yelled stopping Raph in his tracks. Splinter wrapped Karai securely in his tail, binding her arms to her sides, and brought her close to him. He prided himself on being able to detect when one was telling the truth or lying. He didn't understand how she was alive, but she was desperate beyond measure to have come to the house of her enemies.

"But sensei!" Raph yelled, coming for her again but was held back by Donnie. "Raph, just wait a sec." Donnie said struggling to contain an angered Raphael. Raphael did not try to attack again, but it was only because Splinter had Karai in his protective grip. He thought he saw where this was going, and if it was gonna be that way, Raph wasn't gonna stick around to witness it.

"No Raphael. We will hear her out, and then we will decide as a family what to do about this situation," Splinter said. He then looked at Karai who was clearly shaken by not only being close to the mutant rat, but in the grip of the very tail she tried to cut off. The smallest particle of shame inched its way into her heart. This was the beginning. She had a great many things to atone for.

"Now, tell us Karai. How are you still alive, and why is it that you have come here?"

* * *

Asha was drained. They had dropped her off first and she couldn't have been more relieved. She put the key in the lock and opened the door of her darkened apartment and stopped short, her hackles raised. Something was in here waiting for her. She only had her bags with her. She had purposely left her staff at the turtle's home and was now cursing herself for being without it. Whoever this was had simply picked the wrong apartment for breaking and entering, and not just because there wasn't anything to steal.

Slowly and silently, she closed the door and set her bags down. She crept close to the wall, thankful that she had a small place. The first door she came to was the bathroom, but it was open and empty. The bedroom was right off from the small living room so she could sweep it in one go. When she got to the threshold of the living room she stopped and inhaled sharply. There was something very large and dangerous in the corner. With her human eyes she couldn't make out what it was. A car passed on the street outside and its headlights shone briefly into the apartment, and all Asha could see was animal eye shine. For a split second she thought it was Rahzar and she immediately shifted. She was about to pounce, ready to kill whoever or whatever this was, but when she shifted her vision was clear. In the corner of her living room standing almost with its head touching the ceiling, was a werewolf. All black fur covered it from head to toe with nothing to separate it from the shadows it stood in but the yellow-green of its eyes. It growled low in its throat but did not move. Asha ran towards it, and suddenly she was in its arms, and human again.

"Mighty Max!" Asha buried her face in its chest, inhaling deeply the scent of her very best friend. The werewolf was making a high-pitched whining sound from its throat, obviously pleased with seeing Asha. The werewolf held her for a while before gently pulling Asha away and putting her on the floor. It then shifted to reveal a tall at almost six feet, pretty, and very naked girl. Her long black hair hung well past her waist, some of it in her face. She had to smooth it back away from her face with her hand, green eyes sparkling even in the gloom of the apartment.

"Asha BoBasha!" Max exclaimed, both of them hugging and jumping up and down together. Their laughter dissolved into tears as they cried on each other's shoulders. They finally let go of each other when Max slapped Asha not all that lightly across the face. Asha rubbed the spot but held her head down low.

"Do you know how worried sick I was about you? You have any idea what kind of worry and stress I was under?!" Max screamed as the tears rolled freely down her face. Asha said nothing. This was a long time coming and she deserved whatever Max said to her.

"The night your uncle was killed, that was the last night I heard your voice Asha. It's been almost a full year. I thought I would never see you again. You just left me, no word, no goodbye, nothing. How could you? How could you do that to me Asha? To _me_." Max was crying and shaking. She hadn't meant to be so mean, but dammit Asha deserved that. Max had to have answers after having nothing for so long.

Asha found her old recliner and plopped heavily into it, crying into her hands. The tears were for everything. She was so hurt after breaking up with Leo, happy to see her friend, and miserable that she was now face to face with the pain she had caused that very friend. The past never stopped haunting you. She was realizing that more and more. Asha gathered herself enough to talk. Max was sitting on the floor in front of her, cross-legged and rubbing both Asha's knees soothingly, waiting on her to speak.

"Where do I even start Maxine? So much has happened. I've done…some pretty fucked up things since I left. That's why I left you behind," Asha looked into her friend's eyes and saw acceptance. Maxine Lupita Gutierrez had always accepted her and tonight would be no different. Asha knew that whatever she told her, and she would tell it all, Mighty Max would love her regardless.

"Start from the beginning."

* * *

The turtles waited for Splinter's reaction and his opinion on what Karai had told them. The old rat stroked his beard, brows furrowed in deep concentration as they all sat in a semi-circle with Karai facing them, the odd ninja out. She felt sick baring all to the very mutants she had tried to kill. The very fact that they had not killed her outright, proved how wrong she'd been. How wrong Shredder had been. They weren't just freaks and animals. They had shown her mercy so far, at least they had not killed her. At the very least they had listened to her tale without interrupting, and even now seemed to be considering an outcome other than death for her. She was grateful for even that. For now she sat, back rigid with twenty years of discipline, eyes respectfully cast on the floor before her, daring to look any of them in their faces. She didn't know if she could handle the pity in the orange one's eyes, the appraisal of the one in purple, or the faraway yet penetrating glare of Leonardo. The only one she could accept and understand was the unbridled hatred in the eyes of the one in red. She knew hatred very well, and so on a weird level connected with the red one more than the others at this time.

"What you have told us is very interesting indeed. I have not learned the technique myself but I have heard of it. It is only now that I believe it to be true. You have used the Immortal Technique. It explains why Shredder did not die from such a fall despite his armor." Splinter rose slowly, and not without a noticeable stiffness in his legs, from his place on the floor. His sons looked up at him expectantly.

"So what will we do sensei? She has asked if she can stay with us. Surely we cannot allow her into our home while she has not proven herself trustworthy," Leo said looking up at his father and then setting his eyes once more on Karai. She still had not looked up. Splinter paused, hands behind his back and not looking at Leonardo or any of his other sons.

"Is that truly how you feel my son?" The question was obviously loaded. Mikey, Donnie, and Raph could feel that there was some as yet unspoken details hanging in between sensei's words, but none of them could figure out what. Leo looked pensive momentarily but it passed quickly. He did not respond.

"I will allow you to decide what to do. Leonardo, you are the leader of the group, but listen to the concerns of your brothers. Whatever you all decide will be fine with me," Splinter said as he made his way to his room leaving his sons shocked. They couldn't believe he was leaving such an important decision up to them alone.

"But, sensei how am I supposed to…?" Leo had gotten up trailing after his master. Splinter stopped and turned to face his oldest.

"I am confident in your instincts, in all four of your instincts. I believe you will make the right decision. Now go, do as I have asked." Without giving Leo a chance to respond, Splinter went to his room and shut the door. Leonardo returned to the dojo and sat with his brothers. Karai was still waiting on their decision. He felt his heart strings tugged. He had listened to her, looking for any sign of lies or deceit and found none. Leo had been sitting there the whole time trying to be angry and not being able to. The truth was, killing her had been completely cathartic. All the hatred and anger he'd felt before about the whole water tower and infiltration thing, dissolved the moment his blade went through her. He had allowed himself to romanticize what could have been had she been truthful. He imagined what it would be like had she still been alive. Now she was here, and he couldn't allow his personal feelings to get in the way of doing the right thing for his family. He looked at all his brothers and sighed heavily. This was going to be a long night.


	3. Breathe

"No Leo! If she stays I go, you got that?!" Raphael screamed in Leo's face. He couldn't believe they had agreed to let Karai stay anywhere near them or their home.

"Raphael we all came to a decision, together," Leo tried to remain calm, but he hated not being a unified front especially in the presence of non-family members.

"Fuck that! I didn't come to shit!" Raph was angrier than he had been in a long time with his brother. Leo blinked slowly trying to calm himself. Raph was close to fighting and he couldn't allow that, not right now.

"Raphael! Your language! Sensei is still in the other room. You need to calm down."

"Don't tell me what to do!" Raph was mere inches from Leo. Leo's lips became a barely visible line. Donnie and Mikey separated the two.

"Raph calm down bro. We can handle this, but we need you too," Mikey pleaded with Raph, who still was boring a hole in Leo's head with his eyes.

"Lemme ask you this then Mikey, you wanna go ta sleep with her sneakin' around the lair?" Raph asked, finally looking at his baby brother and toning his voice down just a tad. Mikey hesitated as he looked over at Karai, considering the question carefully. He looked Raph in the eyes when he spoke.

"She won't be sneaking around. Like Leo said, we all take turns watching her. She won't be able to sneak," Mikey saw in Raph's eyes that he wasn't buying it. "We should give her a chance Raph. Sensei believed her. That's gotta count for something right?" Raphael didn't respond. His shoulders heaved in time with his breathing.

"Raphael," Donnie said approaching him but knowing better than to touch him right then. For reasons unexplained, only Mikey had the right to touch him when he was this mad. "No one is saying we have to ingratiate her into the family fold, okay. All Leo is saying, all that we're saying is that there's more to it than we see on the surface. Mikey is right, sensei believes her and we know he's never wrong about these kinds of things. He's trusting us to make the right move here, and I honestly don't think the right move is to turn her loose without knowing exactly what makes her desperate enough to come here of all places." Donnie could see he was getting through with some logic, but at this point Raphael was just upset, not that Donnie could blame him. He wasn't too happy about it either truth be told. For one, she'd gotten past his security systems without the remote alarm tipping him off, and that needed to be corrected pronto.

"You three can have fun with this if you want, but I'm outta here. Like I said, if the bitch stays, I go!" With that Raphael made his way to the lair's entrance, angrily pushing his way past his brothers. He turned to address Leo just before making his exit.

"You betta be right about this Fearless, or else I swear if this family is hurt because you're sweet on some chick…so help me!" He couldn't finish the sentence, so he growled slightly to make his point, and made his way into the night. He didn't know where he was headed, but anywhere was better than the madhouse he had just left.

Leo palmed his face before looking over his brothers. Both Donnie and Mikey shrugged, of course. Who could do anything with Raph when he got like that? Leo walked over to Karai who was still on the floor having not moved a muscle. Outwardly she made no changes, but inside she was glad they made the decision to keep her around at least for a while. She'd taken a big gamble coming to them, but for now it seemed to have paid off. She would try very hard to earn their trust, especially Leonardo's.

He squatted in front of her. She looked up at him for the first time since the conversation to decide her fate began. She had forgotten how massive he was, how massive they all were. Even the smallest one, Mikey, was intimidating in his size although his face seemed always gentle and relaxed. Leonardo cupped her chin in his large hand and raised her head.

"Do not make me regret this decision. If you do, you will join your father and this time there will be no technique to save you. Do you understand me?" He waited patiently for her answer.

"Hai," simple and plain. Karai was desperate yes, but not a beggar. Leo could read the contempt in her eyes for having to comply so willingly with an open threat. He figured one who was raised by such a heartless monster as Shredder, had to hate compromise especially if they weren't the ones setting terms. Leonardo stood, then held a hand out to help her up. She ignored the hand and got up on her own.

"I'll take first watch. Donnie, Mikey, you two can get some rest," Leo said heading out of the dojo finally. His body and mind were tired and he could almost hear the bed calling his name. He went to get some extra blankets to make a bedding for Karai.

"What about Raph?" Mikey asked, unnecessarily worried about his older brother. Leo patted Mikey on the shell comfortingly.

"You know how he is. As soon as he's done blowing off steam he'll come back, don't worry Mikey." This did the trick as the worry lines instantly faded from his forehead.

"I'm going to revamp our security systems. I don't like it that she got past them," Donnie said marching off to his lab to do just that.

"Alright, just try to get some type of sleep. It was a long drive and night, and I'm gonna need both of you in the morning," Leo called after him. Donnie nodded his understanding and disappeared into his quarters. Leo knew that meant he was gonna be up all night anyway.

He led Karai into his room and arranged the blankets on the floor. She stood there silently as he stripped down to his sleeping shorts, and crawled into bed, turning his shell to her.

"Aren't you going to tie me up or something? You couldn't possibly trust me," she said to his shell.

"I'm not going to tie you up."

Karai waited. She didn't want to relax, almost couldn't relax. She needlessly worried that he might try to hurt her in her sleep, but she knew that wasn't how he did things.

"You can stand there all night like a statue if you want, but I suggest you get some rest. Raphael will be back at some point, and I don't imagine being tired, sleepy, or in any way not on your toes will be beneficial to you at all when he does come back." Leo said not bothering to turn around. He was too tired, and not in the mood for the games that he remembered that she liked to play.

A few minutes later he heard her rustle in the blankets apparently getting comfortable. She didn't speak anymore, and neither did he. It wasn't until a few hours later that her breathing told him she had fallen into fitful sleep.

* * *

Raphael ran and ran along the rooftops searching for someone to smack around. How could they all trust her so fast? Was he the only one who remembered that she was just as guilty of getting them captured as anyone else? He stopped at the edge of one of the roofs. It was warm and he could smell the food from all the restaurants and food stands that stayed open all night. He bent down peering over the roof's edge at the hustle and bustle below. The city that never sleeps like you wouldn't believe.

 _Inhale_

Raphael quieted his breathing and tried for once to think past his anger. Had Karai been telling the truth? That was the big question. For him it mattered and then again it didn't. She was kunoich and it was her job to lie convincingly. Even sensei had bought into it, and that was almost the worst part of it.

 _Exhale_

He expected Fearless to be game for it. After all it was a girl, and Leo had always been kinda sappy when it came to females. What he couldn't understand was why. Why give her a chance? A chance to do what exactly? Why were they entertaining this bitch at all?!

 _Inhale_

Could have just done away with her, but then sensei wouldn't have gone for that, particularly not in their home.

 _Exhale_

Then again what Donnie was saying did make some kind of sense. If she was still part of the foot, why not just go back with them? What would be the point of her coming to them, unless it was a trap of some kind which Raphael was certain was the case.

 _Inhale_

No. Something about this wasn't right. It would be too easy to suspect it, too unbelievable. He had looked into her face, looked at her body. She was skinny, way too skinny. In truth she looked somewhat malnourished. She had been in their home since a little after they left for the farm. They hadn't left a whole lot of food, worried that it would spoil while they were gone. What little they had was wiped out, apparently by her, and the effects of being hungry were still written on her face and body. Why would the foot send a weakened Karai to them with the high chance that she would be killed on sight rather than given mercy?

 _Exhale_

The answer is they wouldn't. Raphael wanted to be angry and to not understand, but he couldn't fake it within himself. Sensei was right to believe her because as inexplicable as it was she was telling the truth. Raphael couldn't think of a single reason other than absolutely having no other choice, why he would show up at the Shredder's house. Well, not the Shredder since he was dead, but the point is he wouldn't do that. Ever. For any reason.

Raph stood up. The breathing only helped him to reach a point where he was conscious of his actions. He at least tried to do that much. The people below bored him. He needed some action and he needed it now. He wondered if there were some stray Purple Dragon thugs to thump around. Well, if there were he'd find them. He raced off in the direction of Chinatown.

* * *

"So let me get this straight, you went on a rip-roaring rampage of revenge on the guys who attacked the dojo? Not, only that, you actually found this jawn and put him outta his misery?" Max asked her friend, looking at her in wonder. She let out a small whistle and sat back in the kitchen chair. Asha was sitting across from her, nursing a room temperature glass of water.

"That's real colorful the way you put it, but yeah in a nutshell," Asha answered.

"My girl is a bonafied badass," Max said giggling, but Asha just shrugged.

"I don't feel like a badass Mighty Max. I don't even know how I feel about all the stuff I've done," Asha looked up at her friend whose grin was slowly fading from her face, a look of concern replacing it.

"What have you done then? You told me about the mutants, which I'm still kinda wrapping my mind around, you told me you tracked him, you told me you killed him. You're being very vague about your little friends you say helped you out. So what's missing?" Max was starting to be worried about what Asha would tell her.

"I have….killed a lot of people, not just that mutant that killed my uncle. The foot clan people I told you about? I vowed to just get rid of all of them. They killed the children that they kidnapped, so I took it upon myself to get rid of the whole damn crew. It didn't work because they're still around, but I'm done doing that Max. I can't live my life like that. Like a murderer," Asha spoke quietly. Max allowed her to purge, not quite believing what she was hearing but not putting it past her friend either. She knew Asha was volatile and prone to excessive violence, after all it's why Max befriended her in the first place. She allowed Asha to continue.

"They locked up me and my friends because of what I was doing. They tortured us, they forced me to take a drug and the tried to make me kill little kids Max!" Asha was getting upset. For a moment Maxine feared that Asha had actually murdered children. She didn't know how she would deal with that information.

"I couldn't do it. I was out of my mind, but I couldn't kill little kids. So, I was just asking for strength. I don't know how to explain it, it was like I was asking my uncle if I was doing the right thing. This is going to sound so crazy, but it was like he was there and he wasn't happy with me. It was like he didn't want me to avenge him." Asha fiddled with her fingers, still holding the cup and not drinking from it. Maxine sighed heavily again, looking into her own empty cup and thinking she needed something stiffer than water after hearing all this.

"You think I'm a monster now don't you?"

"No chicka, I don't think you're a monster. I think you're bat shit crazy, but not a monster. I couldn't have done what you did, but I don't blame you one bit for doing it. You should have killed every last one of them Asha." Her voice was full of a venom Asha had rarely heard from her friend. Max was leaning across the table and holding Asha's hand as she spoke.

"How was his service? Was it nice? Did a lot of people come out and pay their respects?" Fresh tears stood in Asha's eyes. Maxine hated seeing her like this. It hit her all at once how Asha must have felt not being at her uncle's funeral service.

"It was beautiful Asha, I made sure of it. Plenty of people came out to offer condolences and everything. I took care of all his affairs for you. He left you everything Asha. He really loved you." Asha looked at Maxine eyes widened in shock. The look of gratitude on her face melted Maxine's heart. Asha rushed over to Maxine and almost knocked her out of her seat with a tight hug. Max could feel her hot tears through her shirt.

"Thank you so much Maxine. I can never repay you. I can never repay you," Asha cried on her friend's shoulder.

"Hey, hey, with all the tears," Maxine said pulling gently away from Asha. "You are my sister Asha, don't ever forget that. Don't ever think that that can change between us. I would do anything for you, I would give my life for you and I know you would do the same. So why don't we wipe those tears and go get us something to eat okay?" Asha smiled in spite of herself and nodded emphatically. She was actually quite hungry now that she had time to focus on it.

"We can get pizza or something, but no Philly cheesesteak," Asha said getting up and getting her keys and putting her shoes on.

"Why not?"

"Because they have no idea how to take the order. I went up to one stand and ordered a simple cheese whiz/with and he had no idea what I was talking about. I had to actually say I wanted a Philly cheesesteak with cheese whiz, then he was like 'oooh', I was like duh dude get with the program," Asha said smiling now and ready to enjoy her friend's company. Maxine was laughing in disbelief and heading out to properly enjoy New York City.


	4. Truth Hurts

It was just what he wanted to hear. The noise of fighting was like music to his ears. Raphael made his way silently over to look into an alleyway. He expected to see some purple dragons, but these guys didn't seem to belong to a gang. There were about five men in matching suits and they were ganging up on some guy. Raphael looked a little closer. It was that same guy that he and Asha met the night they launched an attack on the Brooklyn facility. The painted hockey mask, the hockey sticks, aluminum bats, and bad fighting form gave it all away, it was that kid Casey Jones.

From the looks of things Casey had taken out two of the strange men. _Not bad_ Raph thought to himself. However, Casey seemed outnumbered and outmatched as the men pulled guns from their suit jackets and aimed them at Casey. _Time to even the odds_ , Raph thought as he made his way down the side of the building soundlessly landing behind the group. Casey saw him but didn't let on to the weird group of guys that their jig was up. Instead he started talking.

"Man, you guys are a bunch of bitches ya know that? Pulling a gun out on one guy. What is it like ten of you funny looking ass dudes?" Casey's mouth was going a mile a minute. Raph could see the confusion on Casey's face. He hadn't noticed it himself yet, but all the men looked identical to one another. Like a weird set of quintuplets.

"It seems that the one known as Casey Jones, cannot do what is known as count," one of the men said with a strange robotic monotone.

"Shut up kraang. The time that is known as now, is not the time that is the time to do what is known as fooling around," one reprimanded the other. "Kraang must collect specimens as Kraang Prime has ordered of the kraang, for what is known as the secret project of the kraang." They all advanced towards Casey obviously with the intent of capturing him rather than killing him. Raphael had heard enough, of whatever he heard. They way these guys talked was ridiculous. With a few flashes of his sai he took out four before the last one noticed he was standing alone. It turned to face Raphael, an oddly shocked look on its too-perfect features.

"This specimen looks to kraang to be what is called a giant turtle?" It was more of a question than a statement. Raphael growled and plunged a sai in its head. Sparks flew as Raph withdrew it. These things weren't human at all, but some kind of robot or cyborg or some other thing that Donnie would know all about.

"Thanks man. They just about had Casey Jones' ass in a sling if you hadn't come around," Casey said stepping over robot bodies to get to Raph.

"Yeah, I could see that. This the second time I've had to save your scrawny ass Casey," Raph said as he knelt down to further inspect the men. They were absolutely robots, no question in his mind. This was unheard of, and brought up way too many questions. He was looking for thugs to beat up, not a damn Scooby-doo mystery.

"So where's your human-cat girlfriend at? She fought pretty sweet too last time I saw," Casey said. He'd lifted his mask and revealed his missing front teeth in a broad smile.

"She ain't my girlfriend asswipe," Raph growled pointing a finger in Casey's face. Casey raised his hands in surrender.

"Okay, okay, you don't have to get all uptight about it. She's not your girl," he said chuckling at Raph's response. Casey looked around, perhaps for more of the robot men. "So, what are these things?"

"I was about ta ask you the same thing. Why did they corner you up? And why're you out so late anyway?" Raph asked stepping over the bodies to get further into the alleyway. He started up a fire escape to the roof. Casey followed without question.

"Whoa there my giant turtle friend, Casey Jones does not have a curfew. To answer your second question, I have no idea. I was out blowing off some steam on a few Purple Dragon goons, when all of a sudden these guys pull up in a van," they both sat on the edge of the roof, feet dangling over the side, as Casey told Raph his story.

"I didn't even get a chance to really kick some ass before they showed up. They held us all at gunpoint and ordered the thugs I was beatin' up to get into the van. The dragons put up a fight, but they got taken anyway. I used that chance to get the hell out of there, but they followed me. I had just taken out two of them when you showed up. They said something about some kind of secret project or something, but I have zero freakin idea what the hell they were talking about man."

"Kraang," Raph muttered to himself.

"Huh?" Casey questioned.

"Nah, it's just something those things were saying. Kraang. Like it was a name or something, but who would name a robot kraang?" Raph's face was twisted in a frown. Maybe he should take a part of them back to the lair for Donnie to inspect. Thinking of the lair made him remember why he'd left in the first place and he had to struggle not to get mad all over again. He rose to his feet to go back down the fire escape to grab up one of the robots and he thought he saw something move from the corner of his eye. He focused a little harder, but didn't see anything move again. Casey was also looking over the edge, having noted that Raph was once again alerted.

"Did you see somethin' move or was that just me?" Raph asked still scanning the ground. Casey shrugged.

"Nope, didn't see nothing. It's just you jolly green giant," Casey said straightening up and patting Raph's shell lightly. Raph grimaced at the touch and moved out of Casey's reach. He looked at the young man, wondering if he should be worried about this guy's mental state. He'd seen him twice and even saw Asha, yet Casey was acting like it was normal.

Raph figured it was time to get back home seeing as how dawn was on its way, but before they parted ways he had to know if this guy was crazy or not.

"So what's with you anyway?" Raph asked abruptly. He could tell it caught Casey off guard. It seemed like he was confused about what Raph was referring to, but then understood the question, smiling when he decided to answer.

"Yeah, I admit it's weird as hell I'm not gonna lie. The thing is, you and cat woman saved my ass, and beat the hell out of those goons. The shit was so damn metal! You had to be one of the good guys, otherwise you woulda just let me get my ass beat," Casey was excited at the memory. Raph could tell his little weird ass cherished it. He fought a smile that threatened to spread across his face. Despite himself he liked the guy already. He wasn't afraid and he was down for a fight, which were pretty much the two main requirements of friendship with Raph.

"Heh, okay. Well then you should probably make it home. Whatever these things are you might not wanna get caught up with them again," Raph turned to take a running start for the next roof over. Casey was making his way down the fire escape, and once on the ground popped his skates on.

"Will do Raph my good man. Watch your back dude, I'm outta here," Casey said flipping Raph a double bird and skating off. Raphael shook his head, the grin finally worming its way onto his face. He considered the robots briefly, but something inside his guts warned him it wouldn't be a good idea to touch them anymore. He would just have to do his best to describe what they were like to Donnie, and hope he could find out something from that. Raphael hit the next manhole and headed home.

* * *

Leonardo sat up in his bed even before the alarm clock could go off. He turned to find that Karai was still sleep and in a fetal position. He thought about checking to see if she were truly asleep, and then decided that would be pointless. If she was awake then she was awake. As long as she wasn't doing anything he was fine. He got up and left for the bathroom but not before gathering his belts and weapons. After a quick shower he heard noise coming from the kitchen. By the way the pots seemed to be angrily banging around he thought it could be none other than Raphael back from blowing off steam.

Leonardo went into the kitchen, and without saying a word he took a seat. He wasn't waiting for Raph to say the first word or make the first move of course. Raphael was making himself a BLT that actually looked pretty good.

"Make me one of those? Looks good," Leo said. Raphael grunted and laid all the ingredients out on the table for Leo to make his own. This was a good sign actually. The fact that Raphael acknowledged his presence enough to do even that, meant that he may be open to some form or conversation or reconciliation. Leonardo hated having these arguments and riffs with Raph. It set the whole lair on edge and made decision-making difficult to say the least.

"You ready to talk now?" Leo asked knowing the answer to that.

"No. Leave me alone Leo, I ain't in the mood for this," Raph said gruffly, his back still turned although he was done making his sandwich and was now taking bites of it. Leo nodded even though Raph couldn't see him do it. He started making his own sandwich.

"This is for the best Raphael. You know I would never endanger this family. I would give my life for any of you, you know that," Leo said to Raph's shell. He didn't respond but he didn't leave in a huff either. That meant either one of two things. Either Raph was listening but still upset, or he was figuring the right moment to belt Leo across the face.

"So, you kept first watch is that right?" Raph asked through a mouthful of sandwich.

"Yeah I did. Without incident I might add."

Raph grunted. Leo knew something else was behind that.

"She sleep in your room?"

"Yes she did," Leo responded not liking the accusatory tone creeping into Raph's voice.

"Bet you could watch her real good from that angle," Raph said with a disapproving snort. He finally turned to face Leo, who had narrowed his eyes with his hand paused in midair, holding the butter knife with a dollop of mayonnaise precariously balanced on its edge.

"What is that supposed to mean?" Leo asked, he was just annoyed now. Raph was in the mood to push his buttons.

"Oh I don't know, it just seems like some things are very convenient, that's all," Raph said with a shrug of one shoulder. He took a seat across from Leo and just watched him angrily make the sandwich.

"I don't know what you're talking about. I fail to see how having a long night, then coming home to find someone you thought you killed standing in the middle of your home, convenient. Please Raph, oh wise and angry one, explain that to me," Leo said, finally getting angry about the whole conversation. This was not how he pictured it, but then again talking to Raph has rarely ever gone to plan.

"Have you texted her, asked if she was alright?" Raph said switching gears so completely that Leo had to think for a second what he was talking about. The look of confusion on his face told Raph all he needed to know.

"Huh, what're you talking about now?" Leo was still in the fog of confusion trying to piece together what this had to do with the crappy conversation they were having a moment ago.

"Wow. She was that easy to get rid of was she? Damn Leo, I never thought you would stoop so low as to pretend your ex-girlfriend didn't exist anymore just because you dumped her," Raph said. He crammed the rest of the sandwich in his mouth, dusted his hands off and stood to leave the kitchen. Leo immediately jumped up to block Raph from leaving.

"You don't know what you're talking about Raph!" Leo said with a finger in Raph's face. "Who told you she's my ex anyway?! You know what it doesn't even matter because it's none of your business anyway, so just stay out of it!" Leo was mere inches from Raphael. This was not what he wanted to talk about. In fact, it was way in another atmosphere from the conversation he wanted to have.

"You better get your damn hand outta my face Leo, I'm warnin' you," Raph growled out. Leo took his finger and poked Raph's plastron a couple of times.

"Mind your own business. What Asha and I do are of no concern to you," by this time he was just as angry as Raphael. How dare he bring up such a sensitive subject that had absolutely nothing to do with him at all? Raph smacked Leo's hand down.

"I didn't ask to get in your so called business, but what the hell was I s'posed to do when she's crying her damn heart out? You tell me that fearless leader!" That got to Leo. It hit him in the chest. Had she gone to Raph and cried on his shoulder? She hadn't even cried at all as far as Leo could tell.

"And before you ask, no she didn't come to me, she don't even know I saw her. It was the morning we left April's farm house. Asha came runnin' down to the pond and just cried Leo. I ain't talkin' about a few tears, I'm talkin' about one of those gut wrenching cries like somebody died. That's how I know. I figured it out once you didn't come to see what was wrong. As a matter of fact nobody came to see about her. She tried to be strong too, to just act like nothing was wrong," Raph said, the venom in his voice leaving as he spoke. He had meant to get at his brother, but he wasn't prepared for the unmasked look of hurt and guilt on his face.

"I-I didn't know she was crying. I-I didn't…" Leo couldn't find the words. It was silly of him to believe that she would have done anything else. To make matters worse she had hidden it, and suffered the pain on her own, without a shoulder to cry on. In his own selfishness he really hadn't wanted her to tell his brothers, but now he understood how isolated she was because of that. He hadn't explicitly told her not to say anything, but she knew him better than he gave her credit for. She would have known he would wish to keep it quiet at least for a while.

"Then to hear you haven't even called her. I mean, I'm no expert but maybe you should, I don't know, reach out to her or something," Raph had cautiously placed a hand on Leo's shoulder. He knew that he had gotten Leonardo angry and touching Leo when he was mad, was almost and bad as when his brothers touched him when _he_ was upset.

"I can't do it Raph. I don't know what to say to her. For once in my life, I'm just lost on this one," Leo sat down defeated. Raph stood but the anger and tension between them had dissipated. He was going to pat Leo's shell a couple of times and leave it at that, but when he saw Leo fold his arms on the table and lay his head down on them, he couldn't leave him like that. Raph sighed and pulled up a chair next to Leo.

"Why'd you guys break up anyway?" Raph asked, a rare tender tone to his voice.

Leo wearily raised his head. He wasn't crying but it was a close thing. He slouched back in the chair and picked at a hole in the old table cloth. It was a very Mikey thing to do.

"I tried to love her, but I couldn't give her what she needed. It was like, I knew she was baring her soul so-to-speak, and I was just giving a little here and there." A moment of silence went by before Raph spoke again.

"What's holdin' you back? You waited for a girl to love you for so long, it's like your throwin' it all away, but I don't understand why," Raph said and watched his brother. A familiar look of pain graced his features, though he tried to cover it. Leo continued picking at the hole, but didn't say anything.

"You like another girl, don't you," it was a statement of fact more than a clarifying question. Leo reluctantly nodded in the affirmative. An even longer moment stretched out.

"It's Karai ain't it? You like Karai, and you somehow liked her before Asha even got in the picture," another statement of fact. Leonardo was shocked into wide-eyed silence. He always managed to overlook how perceptive and keen Raph was especially when it had to do with him. He could read him like an open book, and if Leo was being honest with himself, they both did it to each other which caused a lot of the arguments they had.

He put his head down and rested it back on his arms, which he had repositioned back on the table before him. Raph nodded and patted Leo's shell. He could have pressed the issue, but now wasn't the time. Raph didn't know if there would ever be a time for it. He thought back to a little while before they met Asha, how Leo used to sneak out of the lair when he thought no one would notice. He wasn't sure he wanted any details on that. For once in his life, where it concerned Leonardo he would let sleeping dogs lie.

* * *

Donatello had come out of his lab at the sound of raised voices in the kitchen. He took a peek in Leonardo's room to find Karai lying down, but her breathing told him she was awake. He was about to go play referee when the revelation of Leo's breakup with Asha hit him like a ton of bricks. He was immediately conflicted. On the one hand he was hurt that his brother was hurting, that something had happened between the two that seemed irreconcilable. On the other hand, that feeling of selfish validation welled up in him so fiercely that he was inwardly ashamed of it, even though no one knew about it but him. He wanted her and was in love with her in fact. If truth be told, he had wished for an opportunity to be with her in such a way where neither of them would be at fault or be the cause of hurting Leonardo. If he looked at it a certain way fortune had smiled upon him potentially, but Donnie forced that feeling and thought out of his mind. He felt like a horrible brother to be plotting in the midst of his brother's pain. He would tread carefully. Above all he cared about his family, and even in the wake of this news he would not gloat and would not make a move on Asha until he knew Leo would be okay with it.

He heard movement as though his two brothers were leaving the kitchen, so he crept silently back to his lab. He just didn't want them trying to explain what he heard, or make any excuses. It was just better this way for right now. It was a good thing too, because Raph came in with some interesting and disturbing news. Donnie didn't know what it meant, but whatever it was it wouldn't be good. Turtle luck was like having no luck at all.


	5. Shadows

Setsuko sat in the Shredder's old office. She wore all white ninja gear, complete with white tabi boots, and spiked steel arm and shin guards. In truth she looked like a female version of the Shredder himself. His style had certainly rubbed off on her. Kneeling before her was Akira of the Foot's high council. Kazuko was to her right watching the man do what she could only term as snivel. He was sniffling and had his head so low to the floor that he may as well have been kissing it. It was all Kazuko could do not to laugh at the pathetic sight.

"Akira was it?" Setsuko asked leaning forward. "Stand up before me," she ordered. Akira did what he was told.

"So, the council has decided to try and overthrow me. Would this be for killing Shredder, or because I am a woman?" She asked. He was clearly nervous about the answer he should give.

"I believe Master Setsuko, that it is a mixture of both," he said, trying to keep his voice from wavering too much. His eyes never left the floor. Setsuko seemed to consider him carefully.

"How long have you been on the high council?" She asked suddenly. He glanced up quickly then cast his eyes back to the floor.

"M-mast—" He began.

"Don't stammer."

Akira swallowed thickly and tried to calm himself down.

"Master Setsuko, I have been on the council for thirty years."

"Have the members of that council changed many times, or just a few?" Her brow was raised as she now tented her thin fingers underneath her chin.

"It has only changed twice in my time. Two members died and their places were filled." He was now twisting the fabric of his pants at his sides in an effort not to openly wring his hands.

"So would it be fair to say you know the council members well, and they also know you?"

"Yes," he said weakly.

"Yet, after all those years of serving alongside them, you have now betrayed their trust in favor of someone you do not even know. Is that true?" Setsuko asked now leaning back in the expensive leather chair.

"Master, I don't understand," Akira said and swallowed the lump in his throat. This was not the response he imagined when he came to tell of the council's intended betrayal.

"I believe you do. Have you told me all that you have heard and all that you know of this decision the council has made?" Setsuko asked. Akira nodded.

"I wish for you to speak Akira."

"Yes Master Setsuko, I have told you everything." His hands were a sweaty fidgeting mess at his sides.

"Good, then you won't mind if I relieve you of your snitching, sniveling, traitorous tongue. Is that right?" She said as Kazuko stepped around behind Akira. With a quick heel strike to the backs of his knees, she forced him once more to a kneeling position. He was now visibly shaking.

"Master Setsuko, p-please…" Akira begged. He had no other choice.

"Do you mind? Yes or no?"

"No." His voice was small and she could barely hear it, but it was good enough.

"That is wonderful to hear," Setsuko said too happily for the occasion. "Kazuko, assist him."

Kazuko grabbed the old man by his thinning ponytail pulling it hard enough for him to wince, and to jerk his head back painfully. Kazuko produced a small and very sharp kunai from her waist and handed it to him. His eyes were wild with fear and now realization that he would have to mutilate his own self. Setsuko simply watched, an evil grin twisting the corners of her mouth. With a shaky hand he took the kunai, then he hesitated hoping in vain for mercy, or that this was a cruel test of his loyalty. When Setsuko made no move or motion, he knew he had no choice. With his free hand he grabbed his own tongue. He pressed the cold tip of the kunai to its side, feeling the razor sharpness of the weapon. Then he closed his eyes tightly, and cut.

Setsuko only watched with mild amusement as the blood splattered on the marble floor. He was crying and shaking, but otherwise alright. In a small show of pity, she grabbed one of the luxurious handkerchiefs from the desk in front of her and threw it to him.

"Make yourself presentable," she said as she grabbed a pen and paper and began to write something. When she was done, she handed it to him along with another handkerchief.

"Take this message to the council. They are formally invited to dinner. Perhaps my dramatic entrance did not impress them as much as I thought it had. Present them with your tongue also, as a symbol of your loyalty to me. Do not worry, I have not told them of your treachery. Now go, I have other matters to attend to, and cannot waste any more time with you." With that she stood to leave after watching Akira gather himself enough to do as she commanded. Kazuko was grinning from ear to ear at her clan sister's ruthlessness.

When the man had gone Setsuko turned to her and smiled herself.

"Come Kazuko-chan, Shredder left many loose ends for us to tie. I will need you for this next matter as it is very important," Setsuko said, affectionately grabbing Kazuko by the arm and walking with her down the hall.

"Setsuko, what do you need me to do?" Kazuko asked, smiling at her clan sister adoringly.

"We have a little matter of disgusting aliens to attend to. They are called Kraang, and they are not to be trusted, but they may serve us in the times to come. I will need you to be the liaison between us. I also require you to gather new recruits, mainly women. We need new blood to invigorate the clan. Go back to New York. I will join you as soon as I can after I have met once again with our beloved council."

"Yes, Setsuko. Anything for you," Kazuko said as she bowed respectfully and left to fulfill her mission. Setsuko smiled to herself. The Foot Clan would be remade in her image, and she would start with the old-fashioned council.

* * *

It had been two weeks since Karai was found in the lair. The welcome she received had not been warm, but also not as cold as she would have assumed. Michelangelo she found was cautious around her but friendlier towards her than his brothers. It surprised her greatly that the nosy reporter April O'Neil was actually dating him. She thought the orange banded turtle would have been too immature to carry a relationship, but he appeared to be loving and surprisingly protective over April. April herself had not been friendly. She often gave her disapproving glances, but always from the corner of her eyes. Karai could tell the red head was somewhat afraid of her. Donatello was neutral for the most part, and Raphael was downright mean. He had refrained from physically attacking her due to Splinter's interference and a final threat. Karai had not met Asha and could only assume it had to do with her breakup from Leo that she overheard them talking about. Splinter had taken on almost a mentor-type of position with her, and as he was the clan elder she was obliged to treat him with the respect that tradition and his rank demanded. Leonardo had been quiet but attentive. Asking her often if she needed anything, or if he could do something to make her a little more relaxed. She always declined it, except for when she was invited to watch them spar and train. She mostly accepted that invite so that she could allay any fears they may have had about her spying on them. So she figured the best way to do that and gain trust was to remain visible the majority of the time, only seeking privacy for showering and the like.

This morning she was watching them spar as usual, while not participating. This was a beautiful torture. She very much wanted to join them, but had not been invited to do so by Splinter, so out of respect did not insert herself into their routine. It was becoming increasingly difficult being there, but not being there or able to really join them. She was allowed to be present but not wholly accepted and that was a challenging thing.

Karai watched them all, but her eyes kept trailing over to Leo. He was a perfectionist. His katas and his form were perfect. She knew firsthand the level of concentration and laser focus he employed in a fight, and she could see he did the same even when sparring lightly with his brothers or when he was alone.

After a while the session ended and everyone filed out of the dojo except Leo. He always lingered afterwards. They needed to talk. She stayed with him after she was sure the other brothers and Splinter had gone about their normal routines. Karai got up and walked over to Leo as he was setting up to sharpen his weapons and oil his belts. He sat in lotus position and started slowly trailing the blades of his katanas with his old worn whetstone. Karai sat in front of him watching a while before she spoke.

"How long are we going to dance around as if this were the first time we've ever gotten acquainted?" She asked as he focused more attention than he needed to on his current task.

"This is the first time we're getting acquainted. The other stuff was a lie," Leo said simply. The steady sound of the long scrape of steel against stone seemed to set the tone of the impending conversation. Karai sighed. She thought he would have moved past this whether she was dead or not, just on the basis of how long it had been since their talks on the tower as she thought of it.

"Listen, I was following my orders. I was only doing what I felt then was in the best interests of my clan. The same as you would have done," she said. The sound of the sharpening stopped. Leo looked her in the eyes truly for the first time since she'd been in the lair. He had been avoiding doing that for fear of how it would make him feel.

"It's not the same at all. I would never have toyed with another person that way. Besides, Shredder was attacking us, not the other way around. He started it, we were just determined to finish it. Nothing more, nothing less," Leo said resuming his sword sharpening.

"It's not my fault you got all caught up in your feelings. I told you I wanted in with your family, I never told you I wanted you personally, that was all on you," Karai said getting a little angry. She didn't like being held responsible for other people's feelings and reactions. Leo stopped again, this time with his mouth working furiously for a response.

"Are you serious right now Karai? With all that smiling and touching you did? Batting your eyelashes and flirting with me?"

"I was not flirting with you, you just wished I was," Karai said, a smile playing on her lips trying to lighten the mood. It wasn't working. Leo didn't seem amused by the way she was dismissing his feelings. His mouth turned into a thin line as he went back to what he was doing. He really didn't feel like exploring his feelings with Karai at the moment.

"Some small part of me knew that you were lying to me. I wanted to believe it though. I wanted to believe that you'd changed, that you saw the error of your ways. I wanted to believe that you saw the good in us, the humanity in us…in me," Leo sighed heavily, stopping once again. His concentration for this was utterly broken now. Karai reached out with a tentative hand and laid it gently on Leonardo's knee.

"I did." Karai said simply. His eyes once again met hers. She was as beautiful now as she had been on those nights atop the water tower.

"Even knowing what I knew, I would have brought you home with me and tried to make the lie into truth. As foolish as I know it was and is, I was going to make you see me how I saw you. I wanted to make you…love me," he said. The last two words spoken softly. Karai dared to inch closer to him. With both hands she grabbed his face. She reached behind him to remove his mask. He flinched a little but didn't protest beyond that. She lifted it from his face and studied him.

"Leonardo, I do see you," she said, inching her face closer to his. His eyes flickered over her face, but his expression was unreadable.

She leaned in, getting up on her knees to reach his mouth. She had thought about a moment such as this in her deepest dreams. She could let go and finally admit her feelings for this mutant. Just as her lips touched his, Leonardo backed away. Bewildered, she snapped open her eyes. Leo was looking at her, and was leaning back out of the range of her kiss.

Karai stood immediately, not knowing how to react to this sort of rejection. Certainly she had not anticipated Leonardo refusing her. To make matters worse, he was now looking up at her innocently, as if he hadn't just dismissed her.

"I can't believe you thought it would be just that simple. That you could just waltz in here, and after two measly weeks, I would be all over you like some kind of lost puppy dog. You don't seem to understand that you didn't hurt my feelings so much as you broke my trust," Leo said calmly. The look on Karai's face turned from incredulity to anger.

"I didn't break anything with you. I barely even knew you. You believed what you wanted to believe, you just said as much a minute ago. You knew I was lying to you, you were just being desperate." Karai said hoping that she had wounded him one more time. If he was phased he didn't show it. He simply began sharpening his katanas again.

"Seems like you were the desperate one just now," he said. Karai gasped at the nerve of him but couldn't think of a comeback fast enough. "I mean how desperate do you have to be to try and swap spit with a giant mutated talking turtle." Leo said not stopping his chore and not bothering to look at her. He knew that had gotten to her and made her angry, but he didn't care. Let her squirm a little.

"How dare you?" she said. She tried to lace her voice with venom, but it just came out as hurt and pain.

"How dare I what?" He asked looking at her now with a dangerous glint in his eyes. "How dare I convince my brothers not to kill you on sight? How dare I try to make you as comfortable as possible in a difficult situation? How dare I give you a second chance to come clean and do what's right? Which thing should I have not dared to do, huh Karai? You tell me!" He was standing over her now. Stepping closer to her with every word. She had meant to stand her ground in front of him, the warrior in her not wanting to give even an inch, but she had taken one small step back. He had seen it, and his features softened at the small victory. She couldn't think of a single thing to say.

He loomed over her a moment or two more, and then left the dojo without another word. She could hear Mikey say something, and everyone laughed. Leonardo had the audacity to laugh while she was left there to lick her emotional wounds. One tear fell down her smooth cheek and she wiped it angrily away. She turned on her heels to leave the dojo, but then go where? The lair was large, but it may as well have been a linen closet for all the freedom she felt in it. Finally she went into the bathroom, the only place she could be without being bothered for a while.

She flipped the lid of the toilet down and sat on it, placing her head in her hands.

"You're so stupid Karai. What did you expect them to do? Welcome you with open arms? Lay out the red carpet for Shredder's adopted daughter? You're a fool," she said, chiding herself.

She thought about just leaving this place. She wasn't a prisoner, she could very well leave when she wanted. Then she thought of that old stupid saying and how apropos it was for her; wherever you go, there you are. She could no more outrun herself than she could hide from her own shadow. There was one shadow that she could come out of, and that was the long shadow the legacy of her father had cast over everything he touched. It would be hard, it would be a test of her resolve and her willpower, but she would have to do it. He was dead now and there were no more orders to hide behind. She stood and looked at herself in the mirror. She listened to the ring of laughter as Mikey was getting chased by Raphael and loving every moment of it. _I could be here_ , she thought to herself. _I could belong_. She had stayed out of their way, tried to hide among the shadows but that wasn't going to work for much longer. She would have to actually try and become part of them, whatever the cost. She would earn their trust, his trust, and it would be real.

* * *

 **A/N: The first part of this chapter is in reference to events within the Interlude set of one shots. In a nutshell, basically the Foot Clan has a high council who was none too pleased at the way Setsuko and Kazuko presented the severed head of the Shredder as a way to announce they had taken over the clan. Due to that and the general feelings of the council regarding the tow women, the council called its own secret meeting among members to discuss whether or not they would overthrow the women, and choose a new leader. Akira is one of the members of the council and secretly revealed the plot in order to be favored by Setsuko and Kazuko. We see how that turned out.**

 **Like I said, if you havent read the Interlude you really should. It would help any new reader tremendously with some of the details that I may gloss over at times.**

 **Last but not least, thanks so much to all my readers and reviewers. I can't say enough how much it means to me that I have both new and repeat readers. I'm really humbled and honored that my work is received well. Thanks once again.**


	6. Rumble

Asha was feeling a little better day by day. Her best friend visiting her out of the blue didn't hurt anything either. For the first time in what felt like ages, Asha was doing normal things. It seemed forever ago that her nights were spent in a Foot Clan club, her mornings spent in bloodshed, and the rest of the day spent trying to sleep it off only to wash, rinse, and repeat the process over again. Not to mention trying to act as if your grief and thirst for vengeance wasn't driving you insane. It felt as if she had stepped out of a nightmare into the real world. Even though she would always miss him, the pain of the loss of her uncle no longer consumed her as it did before. Having Max around to talk to her about his funeral service, and generally having taken care of his things left her with a peace of mind that she would not be able to repay her friend for giving her.

Since Max came back into her life, she stopped living like each day would be her last. She had found a job although it was at another gentlemen's club. It paid well and while it wasn't super upscale, it wasn't a dive either. She'd even seen that Casey guy there once or twice. Asha wanted to speak, but realized he wouldn't recognize her as a human so left it alone. Max had taken her to get a cell phone, some more clothes, buy normal amounts of food, and even spruce up her place a little. It wasn't a complete turnaround, but Asha had managed to purchase a new bed that she was sorely in need of, and some bathroom décor.

The only sad thing was that she hadn't seen the turtles since they'd all gotten back from vacation. Donatello text her once to say that Shredder was dead, for real this time. When she asked how they could know that for certain, he went mum which was odd for him and how they communicated with each other. She missed Mikey and Raph also. It had not gone unnoticed that Raphael had been somewhat more attentive that last day at the farm, and on the ride home. She missed Leo as well, but thought maybe it was best that they weren't together. Perhaps it was a lie she told herself, but it got her through the days without feeling the loss of him too much.

Asha came out of her bedroom, having gotten dressed and ready for the day. Maxine was in the kitchen cooking up lunch and it smelled delicious.

"Mighty Max, what're you cooking pretty girl?" Asha asked as she came into the kitchen. Maxine was standing at the stove with a million pots going at once.

"A proper Philly lunch. A cheese steak, whiz with," she said over her shoulder as she wiggled the can of cheese whiz. Asha grinned and slightly jumped up and down.

"Ooh Max you make the best steak ever!" Asha said sitting down at the table. Soon Max was setting the sandwich in front of her as she also sat down to eat.

"So, when are you going to introduce me to your friends, and your ex so I can beat the hell out of him for dumping you?" Max asked casually.

"I don't know. I'm actually gonna head over there to pick up my staff." Asha said, taking a big bite of the sandwich and sitting back in the chair to enjoy it.

"Are they shifters or mutants or what? C'mon you're being too vague Asha," Max said. Asha could see the excitement in her friend's eyes.

"They're mutants. I would love to spill the beans, and my gut tells me that they actually wouldn't mind, but I was sort of sworn to secrecy so technically I can't tell you." Asha said as she looked into Maxine's puppy dog eyes.

"Look, I'll ask Raph to come over. I'll give him a heads up about you, and if he agrees you'll see him tonight okay? Plus I think you two might make a cute couple. I told him I'd see if I could hook him up," Asha said. Max's mouth hung open.

"You are absolutely horrible at match making, we both know that. He must be ugly as hell." Maxine said chuckling at the thought of getting hooked up.

"He is most certainly not ugly, although his look is…an acquired taste," Asha said smiling with a mouthful of cheese steak.

"See! I knew it! He's hideous Asha c'mon now!" They both almost spit out their food they were giggling so much. Asha finally finished and got ready to go.

"Where you going?" Max asked as she cleaned the dishes.

"I gotta go to their, uh, place and get my staff like I said," Asha said slipping on her shoes. "What are you gonna get into today?"

"Nothing. Maybe go shopping, spend some more of your money," Max said calling to Asha who was almost out of the door.

"Alright, don't get lost. See you later," Asha said and left. She went out of the door leading to the alley and lifted the manhole cover. She hesitated, then went down and headed to the lair.

* * *

Karai was sitting in the main room not really watching TV with them, and Raph couldn't stand it. She wasn't doing anything, wasn't saying anything, but she was sitting there like everything was cool. Mikey was trying to talk and joke with her while April tried to ignore her. She was giving Mikey polite responses, laughing when she was meant to but she was uneasy. Having Raphael stare darts into her didn't help her relax.

Donnie was watching his monitors preparing for the night's patrol when he saw Asha approach. She was wearing jeans and a halter top and she was looking as beautiful as ever. That feeling reared its head again, selfish desire. He suddenly remembered Karai's presence and the fact that Asha was completely unaware of it. He got to his feet and rushed out of the lair to meet her.

"Asha, hey how are you?" Donnie said running up to her and grabbing her up into a crushing hug.

"Hey Donnie. I've been okay," Asha said surprised he picked her up, but liking the feel of his arms around her. She wrapped herself around him as best she could and kissed his cheek.

"I missed you," he said putting her down.

"I missed you too, Donnie," Asha said caressing his face lightly. He smiled and pushed his glasses back up on his nose.

They started back towards the lair when Asha noticed Donnie get a little nervous. His eyes kept darting around.

"What's the matter with you? Why're you looking so apprehensive?" Asha asked him, a small smile playing at the corners of her mouth. She thought maybe Mikey was playing some prank she couldn't know about, or something equally silly, but Donnie wasn't looking too happy.

"Well, there's someone here, with us, in the lair," Donnie was about to start babbling in his usual way when he was either excited or anxious. Asha raised her hand and stopped him from talking.

"Whatever it is it'll be alright. I didn't figure you guys would replace me so soon, but hey what're you gonna do, right?" Asha said playfully and rubbing his arm to calm him. It didn't seem to quite work, but the petting was welcomed anyway.

"A-alright, but it's not really gonna be okay," he said pushing his glasses up once more and heading to the lair entrance.

What she saw when she walked into the common area literally floored her. Sitting in a chair next to the couch was Karai in the flesh. Asha actually tripped and fell like an idiot, and had to have Donnie help her up.

"Uh, I told you it wouldn't be okay," Donnie mumbled.

"What the…? I mean, how are you still…? And why're you here in the…?" Asha couldn't get her words together or believe her eyes, and when she saw Leo prance out of the kitchen with a plate of food and hand it to her with a smile, she instantly became angry and jealous. He never served her food like that.

"So she gets a nice plate of warm food and I don't?" Asha said, nearly making Leo jump out of his shell.

"A-Asha?" Leo asked refusing to believe his eyes. Asha was the last person he was expecting to see this afternoon.

"When did you get here?" He asked wide eyed and trying to be casual. Karai turned to look at Asha coolly, then settled in her seat to watch it all play out. In fact everybody in the lair was focused on Leo and Asha.

"In time to see you serving hot food to your girlfriend over there," Asha said her tone deceptively calm but the fire in her eyes was unmistakable.

"She's not my girlfriend Asha," he said, his tone matter-of-fact. He was also trying to calm the storm that he knew was coming, but it wasn't going to work.

"Whoa whoa, Asha is your girlfriend Leo, what is she talking about dude?" Mikey piped up from the couch in confusion.

"He dumped me. Didn't he tell you all?" Asha asked, her eyes never leaving Leo's face. Her hands were clenching into fists so tight, that she was digging her nails into her palms.

"Dude?! You dumped Asha?! For Karai?! Dude that's so messed up," Mikey was in shock. April was stunned into a rare silence. Master Splinter had come out to see what the commotion was all about, and when he saw Asha understanding came instantly, and he went back into his room. He would need all the meditation he could stand. Donnie was standing behind Asha, and Raph was sitting on his beanbag, for once glad he wasn't the one responsible for a potential fight in the lair.

"I didn't dump her for Karai, Mikey. It's…complicated," Leo said, his jaw tightening as he spoke.

"It's not complicated Leonardo, it's actually quite simple. You played me, then you dumped me, and worst of all you lied to me about it," Asha said, her eyes too glassy.

"I never lied to you Asha. Never." Leo retorted, offended at being called a liar.

"I asked you specifically if there was another woman, and you said no,"

"That's because it was true."

"You loved some other woman, and now I see who. I asked you about that. You could have told me that you didn't want to be with me. All that stuff about not wanting to be without me, and giving us a chance it was all bullshit wasn't it?" Asha said. Little beads of blood were forming at the place where fingernails met palm.

"Now, I'm not crazy. I know you didn't know Karai was alive or whatever. I know you weren't like cheating on me with her or anything like that, but I also have realized that your heart belonged elsewhere. I just couldn't think of who had a hold on you so strong that my love for you couldn't break it. It just so happens to become obvious since she's sitting here, in your house, comfortable and alive and being served by you. Something you never did for me by the way." Asha's eyes were still glassy but the tears hadn't come. She was still too angry for them.

"Maybe he just couldn't respect you. He thought of you as 'obedient', a trait best suited for children and pets." Karai suddenly said. A collective gasp went up as everyone stared in disbelief that she was either bold enough or stupid enough to get in the middle of this.

"You better get your bitch on a leash real quick Leo, because I know she didn't just open her mouth and address me. I will beat this bitch to within an inch of her life, you better tell her what's up," Asha said, still not turning to look at Karai, who only sat unnerved by the threat just issued her way. Leo turned to Karai not believing his ears.

"Karai, just stay out of this. It doesn't concern you," Leo warned Karai, who simply shrugged and kept eating.

"Listen Asha, it isn't what you think. I just wasn't ready for a real relationship. I love you, as a friend, and that's why I let you go," Leo said walking over to Asha and being stopped by the look on her face. She was daring him to try and touch her.

"You could have just said that in the beginning Leo."

"I tried to. I tried to leave you alone, I tried to run you off, but you wouldn't leave. You kept pressuring me to be with you…" Leo said and the wounded look on Asha's face twisted in his gut. The first tear finally fell. Her thick lips were pressed together so tightly they almost disappeared.

"You're right. I kept wanting to love you, and I wanted to believe you loved me too, but now I understand it. I was a charity case. Someone for you to take pity on, that's what I was." Asha said, so low that her words could scarcely be heard.

"That's not what I meant Asha…" Leo tried to explain it away but the damage had been done.

"You just got 'friend zoned' as they call it, deal with it and move on," Karai piped up again, this time with a little chuckle behind the words.

Asha said nothing as she headed straight towards the weapons wall in the dojo.

"Oh my gosh Asha, don't!" Donnie said eyes getting huge behind his glasses as he followed her, knowing full well what was next. Leonardo rushed in after her as well. Asha had grabbed one of Donnie's regular staves and headed back to where Karai was still seated as if nothing was happening around her. Leo stood in Asha's way, but she unexpectedly vaulted over him and took a running start at Karai.

Karai looked up just in time to roll out of the way of a staff blow to the head. Being unarmed she tried to negate the reach of the staff by coming in close. Karai landed several blows to the chest and torso of a livid Asha, whose weapon had been rendered useless by Karai's simple tactic. Asha was angry and unfocused, and so therefore easily handled.

"Karai stop!" Leo yelled but to no avail. The women were too far gone. Raph restrained Leo and Mikey held back Donnie.

"Kick the shit out of her Asha. Focus!" Raph yelled, fighting vicariously through her.

Karai delivered a well-timed and powerful kick to Asha's stomach, sending her back a couple of feet. Asha fell back on her butt, but was up in a flash chasing Karai who had gone into the dojo to retrieve her own weapon, one of Leo's spare swords. Now she would show Asha who she was dealing with.

Asha focused her anger. She was going to take out all of her frustration on Karai today, and Leo wasn't going to stop her. As far as she was concerned he was next anyway. Karai lazily and mockingly twirled the sword in her hand and didn't bother to strike a defensive stance. Asha was more careful, this time with her full concentration not on her emotions, but on her opponent. Instead of running into the teeth of Karai's offense blindly, she struck a real stance and held it.

"My ribs don't hurt today," Asha said referring to the first fight they ever had.

"I was waiting on you to transform, or mutate or whatever it is you do, because you won't defeat me otherwise," Karai taunted. "So chop chop, get to changing, my food is getting cold."

Asha smirked, but didn't move, didn't speak, and certainly didn't shift. Karai was trying to goad her into a rash move, but it wasn't happening. Asha was too battle hardened for that. Realizing Asha wasn't falling for it, Karai sighed and rolled her eyes.

"Fine. Let's get this over with shall we?" Karai said as she approached Asha, the steel of the blade singing through the air.

Asha blocked it high, then went low with a leg sweep that Karai dodged effortlessly. Asha came back up in a sweeping motion with the end of the staff just missing Karai's chin, as Karai back flipped out of reach. Asha didn't let up. She came towards Karai who had thrown several wooden practice shuriken at Asha's head, but she spun her staff to block them all. Asha executed a butterfly kick that landed squarely on Karai's jaw, causing her to fall. Karai rolled away just in time to get out of the way of the staff slam aimed again at her head.

Karai realized that Asha was trying to really hurt her, kill her perhaps. She knew she had better start taking it seriously. Asha was an actual martial artist who could fight as a human, and from the style of fighting the turtles hadn't taught it to her, much to Karai's surprise.

Asha was working with pinpoint focus and accuracy. Karai was a master swordsman as Asha had witnessed the night they all thought Leo had killed her. Fighting her was like fighting Leonardo whom Asha had never beaten in a spar, not even once. None of that mattered. The only thing that mattered was felling Karai right here in the lair. If she didn't kill her, which she really had no intention of doing, she was certainly going to beat respect into her.

Karai was finding it difficult this time to work inside the reach of Asha's staff. Her anticipation of Karai's next moves was more than accurate. Asha successfully kept Karai at bay with slams, spins, and blocks. However, Asha's hands were bleeding and full of small splinters, as Karai's sword nicked the wood repeatedly. Asha came in, using the staff as a pole vault and followed it up with an attempted overhead slam, but Karai blocked instead of dodged. Her sword cleaved the staff in two, and without a complete staff, Asha was open to the straight kick to the chest that she received for her efforts. Asha landed on her back and Karai was instantly standing over her ready to gloat. Asha still held both pieces of the staff, and brought one up to crack Karai on the hand holding the sword. It was just enough pressure to disarm her, but not break the hand. Karai watched as the sword fell to the mat below, and that's when things got really bad.

Asha had jumped up and started fighting with Karai hand-to-hand. Karai was skilled without her weapon, but Asha's style was unfamiliar to her, and Karai had a hard time defending against it. Karai was holding her own, but Asha was physically stronger and she started to land blow after blow to Karai's head and face. Karai also landed blows, ending with both women having busted lips and bloody noses. Karai delivered a high kick to Asha's head, intending it to be the knockout blow, but Asha caught her underneath her thigh, flipped her over and got on top of her. Pinned underneath the stronger woman, Karai could only defend herself with her forearms, and Asha was raining blow after blow on them. She bruised Karai's arms, and was busting her knuckles until they were bleeding. Finally Asha felt herself being pulled off of Karai, and realized it was Leonardo.

"Asha, stop it!"

"NO!" Asha said struggling uselessly against Leo who was holding her and pinning her arms to her sides.

"Asha I said stop!" Leo yelled. He glanced quickly over to see if Karai was alright. She was getting up off the floor looking more than pissed.

"Let me go!" Asha screamed directly in his face. When he refused Asha head butted his nose to make him drop her. Once he did, she tried to get back at Karai who was watching her, but ready for a round two also. Leo tried to grab her again, but she twisted out of his reach. She didn't try to get back to Karai either, the fight in her almost spent. Leo reached up to feel a small amount of blood trickle out of his nose, and frowned at Asha.

"Asha…" he said and meant to say more, but he knew this time no soft words could fix it.

"Don't say my name," she said angrily. He started to say something else, but she cut him off.

"Leo you can't fix it. You said what you had to say already and I heard you loud and clear. Don't touch me either. Go over there and pet her up, she needs it." Asha said, turning to leave again. Donnie had gotten Asha some gauze and alcohol for her knuckles. At first she waved him off, but then looked at her bruised and battered hands. She nodded for him to wrap them and he did so, very tenderly and carefully. There was also one last thing to do before she left.

"Hey Raph, an old friend of mine is in town and will be for at least a couple months. She's dying to meet you guys since I told her I had some friends here," Asha said looking at a confused Raph. He would never understand how she could be so angry one moment, and completely calm the next. She was basically acting like that whole big brawl never even happened.

"Don't worry, I didn't actually tell her you were mutant turtles, but she'd be cool about it. Her name is Max. Would you mind stopping by later tonight? Donnie you can come too if you want," Asha said to the complete silence in the room. Raph finally nodded, not even really understanding what he had just agreed to.

"Hey I wanna meet new people too. What about me?" Mikey asked, his attention now focused on the possibility of a party happening without him. Then his eyes shifted to Leo who just stood staring after Asha. Mikey kind of felt bad for his brother, but honestly if everything he heard them say had actually went down, Leo sort of deserved it.

"Sure Mikey. You come too April!" Asha called back over her shoulder. She was almost all the way out of the lair.

Leonardo stood there completely flabbergasted at what had happened. He glowered at Karai as she stood there acting as if she hadn't been the fuel to an already smoldering fire.

"You. Me. In the bedroom to talk, now," he demanded. Karai held her head up defiantly, but relented after a while and followed him. This may not have helped her to earn her place, but she thoroughly enjoyed every minute of that fight. Behind his back she smiled bigger than she had in months.


	7. Night Patrols and Stripper Poles

**Don Juan:** We'll be a little late tonight, sorry

 **Asha:** NP, gotta work anyway

 **Don Juan:** Oh got another job? Where?

 **Asha:** Yep, stripping again, no foot clan lol

 **Don Juan:** Oh ok that's good

 **Asha:** good no foot clan or good that I'm stripping

 **Don Juan:** good you got a job even though I've never seen you at work

 **Asha:** 0.0 wanna see me work it?

 **Don Juan:** Asha stop it, gotta go on patrol. See you later ;P

 **Asha:** Alright Donnie ttyl

 **Don Juan:** ?

 **Asha:** Talk To You Later goofball

 **Don Juan:** Oh lol I knew that

 **Asha:** Donnie go on patrol

 **Don Juan:** 'Kay bye

Asha closed her t-phone with a smile. It was already dark so she needed to get a move on. Maxine had gone to get stuff for the gathering tonight. Asha had given her keys to the apartment, so she shouldn't have any problems. Asha smiled as she thought about her friend's excitement and nervousness at meeting Raphael and at least two of his brothers. Of course she had to tell her about her little fight, and had to laugh at just how angry Maxine got about it. Max was not the angry type. She was rather mild mannered to be a werewolf, and it was one of the things Asha liked about her. Max was able to calm her down more often than not, and wasn't prone to fighting and confrontations. Asha thought she would be a good balance for Raphael if they managed to hit it off tonight.

When she got to work the club was already bumping. She got dressed, or rather undressed, and just before she hit the stage she saw Casey Jones again. He wasn't her type, but she had to admit he was looking kind of hot, missing front teeth and all. By the way the other girls were giving him lap dances, they thought the same thing. Asha decided to go over there and reintroduce herself.

"Casey! Hey cutie pie," she yelled over the music. He turned to her and smiled although she could tell he didn't recognize her.

"Oh what do we have here?" Casey said as he grabbed her and pulled her into his lap.

"It's me Casey, cat woman. The girl you met that night with the big mutant," she said as she watched realization dawn on him.

"Oh my god! It was ah...don't tell me...ah Asha, right?!" Casey said with a big smile as she kissed his cheek and stood up.

"I'm surprised you remembered," Asha said.

"How could I forget you guys? As a matter of fact I saw Raphael the other week or something like that," Casey told her. Asha was genuinely surprised.

"Really?! Oh okay that's cool. Look Casey I gotta hit the stage, but stick around so I can catch you afterwards okay?" Asha said as she left to dance.

"Sure no problem babe," Casey called after her. He made sure to save a few bucks to rain on her when it was her turn.

* * *

They were getting ready for patrol when Leo gathered them for what he called a special announcement.

"Okay fellas, we're gonna do patrol a little differently tonight," Leo said to the group. Raph's eyes narrowed when he saw Karai get her gear together and stand there as if she were ready to go with them.

"I ain't patrolling with her. I don't trust her if somethin' goes down," he said continuing to look at her mistrustfully.

"Well I got good news then Raphael, you won't have to. We're splitting up and she's coming with me. Raph you go with Mikey, and Donnie you go with..." Leo stopped short. He was about to pair Donnie with Asha and then he remembered, and caught himself.

"I work better alone anyway," Raph said breaking the now awkward silence.

"Aw man, I wanted to do bad ninja, worse ninja with Raph," Mikey whined.

"Hey, I do pretty well at bad ninja worse ninja myself," Donnie interjected.

"True dat Donnie," Mikey said grinning, then "Ow" as Raph popped the back of his head.

"Such an idiot," he said, shaking his head.

A very small smile touched Karai's face. She didn't think she had truly seen them naturally interact as if she weren't there. They were funny and endearing, and best of all they were brothers, they were a true family.

"Alright guys," Leo said. "We all know our area to patrol. If anything happens you got your t-phones. We're only doing a couple of hours, so you guys can get ready to go to Asha's party or whatever." Leo finished awkwardly.

"Sorry you didn't get invited because of Karai, no offense Karai," Mikey said brightly. Karai shrugged noncommittally. Donnie and Raph did a simultaneous face palm. "We'll bring you back some pizza though okay?"

An embarrassed look momentarily graced Leo's features before he corrected it. He then tried to smile, but Mikey caught it and felt bad for being so blunt.

"Sorry Leo," Mikey said, his smile falling.

"Let's go numb nuts, before you say somethin' else stupid," Raph said, taking another swipe at Mikey's head and missing.

"Don't let it get to you too much. You know how he is, Mikey doesn't mean any harm," Donnie said patting Leo's shell. Leo smiled a little more genuinely this time.

"It's alright Donnie, thanks," Leo said simply before they all headed out.

* * *

Even though the purple dragons had suffered a devastating loss during Shredder's attempt to take over the city, the crime rate had actually spiked. The foot clan activity since Shredder's death never decreased, so there was a lot of things to do on this night's patrol.

Leo and Karai had headed over near the warehouse district to patrol. Together they stopped a couple of what seemed to be petty thefts. However, Leo had never recalled the foot needing more than four or five soldiers to pull off a robbery.

They were watching a particularly empty looking warehouse together from the rooftop above it. Leo looked over at Karai who had her attention on the warehouse, and appeared to not even be aware of his presence. She had her hair tied into a tight high ponytail, which somehow accented her high cheekbones and the smooth length of her neck. She wore an all-black body suit complete with light armor that hugged every curve.

"Stop staring at me and keep your mind on the mission at hand," Karai said suddenly, jarring him out of his thoughts.

"My mind is where it needs to be," Leo said. She didn't reply.

"You have any idea why the foot clan would be so active after what Shredder pulled only a little more than a month ago? Seems to me like they'd wanna lay low after that." Leo asked her. If anyone had an idea about how the foot really worked, it was her.

"Three words; Shredder's elite guards. They are the ones who killed him that night. Setsuko, the one with the poisoned chains, and Kazuko her clan sister were his most trusted guards after me, and also his two lovers," Karai said, her voice taking on a strange tone when she mentioned her father's lovers.

"If I know anything about them, and I know more than I want to, they have taken over the foot clan. The high council would not have liked this, as many of them are loyal to the foot as a whole, and would understand that these two women are far more dangerous and quite frankly more psychotic than my father ever was. If I had to take a guess it would be that the clan is now split, one side following the two former guards as the rightful leaders, and the other side in complete revolt."

Leonardo thought hard about this. What would these two women be capable of if they were more psychotic than Shredder had been? He wondered if they had what it took to reign in all of Shredder's assets, and side projects he had going on. Also, he wondered what they would do with Eric Sacks now that Shredder was no longer alive.

"What would they do with Eric Sacks?" Leo asked. Karai glanced at him, then considered the question.

"He'll comply with whatever they want if he wants to keep his head attached to his body. Otherwise he's a dead man." Karai said matter-of-factly.

"Don't they need his expertise on different projects? He isn't just a businessman, but a scientist also. I would think this was important enough to keep him around." This was definitely a question he wanted the answer to and hoped Karai could provide it, given that her info was true.

"Setsuko and Kazuko are ruthless and cunning. They have been killing and conniving for a long time and they learned from the best. Setsuko is the brains of the operation though, and she is more than capable of not only running the foot, but if it's broken into factions, she can unify it albeit with a severely iron grip." Karai turned to look at Leo, whose brow ridges were deeply furrowed in thought. She hesitantly placed a hand on his shoulder, turning him to face her.

"These women are dangerous, absolutely dangerous. They need to be killed, and the foot clan brought under control if you and your brothers, if we, are to have any chance of stopping the problems they will definitely cause. I don't know what they're planning, but whatever it is it will be a hundred times worse than what Shredder has ever done. He wanted New York under his control, they want the world," she said, staring into his mesmerizing blue eyes. He was listening to her, trusting her words.

"You said they need to be killed, and if what you've explained to me is true I wholeheartedly agree with that. You also said, the foot needs to be brought under control. Obviously killing the leader doesn't do that. We thought if we got rid of Shredder, the foot would fall apart, but that clearly didn't happen. Another leader just fills the void. How would the foot clan be brought under control as you say?" Leo didn't like the look he saw in Karai's eyes as she thought of the answer.

"The foot clan can be brought to heel by someone who understands what it should be, how great it used to be, and how great it can be again. It's just an international group of killers and bullies, but it used to be better than that. It used to have honor. I can bring that honor back and make it great again. The only way I can lead is from the inside, not like an outcast," Karai said looking into Leo's horrified face. He couldn't believe what he was hearing. Did she just admit to him aspirations of being the leader of the foot clan? The enemy clan?

"Leonardo, I must take my rightful place as master of the foot. Only then can I guarantee not only its survival, but to restore its honor and its good." After she finished he remained quiet. He peered back over the edge of the rooftop to the warehouse below, still no activity.

"So let me get this straight. Are you telling me to my face that you still want to go back to the foot clan? This after swearing that you wanted to change so badly, and that we should all believe you?" She could hear the anger making his voice almost quiver. She had to make him understand, quickly.

"You must understand Leonardo. I do not wish to take control of the clan in order to follow in my father's footsteps. Quite the opposite in fact. He was once a man of honor Leo, whether you believe that or not. Oroku Saki was not always the monster he ended up being. I watched him have honor and a code he lived by, only to see it fall away as the years stretched on, and as his lust for ultimate control and power grew." Leo was still absorbing what she was saying, and she wasn't sure that he was completely understanding what she was getting at.

"Leonardo, you must understand that in some ways my place is not with you. I mean, not in the sewers, not in hiding with you. My destiny is with the Foot. After I essentially came back to life, I understood that following in Shredder's footsteps wasn't the path that I should take. He was a monster, and he created monsters, Leonardo. I was one of those monsters. If you want to trust me, I can't just sit in the lair. I have to demonstrate to you that I have changed. I have to show you that you and your family have done the right thing by me. Whether you believe me or not, the only way I can do that is to right the wrongs of my father."

Leonardo did not readily respond. He was taking it all in. He thought he understood what she meant, although he didn't know if he necessarily agreed with her chosen method. They both peered over the edge of the roof and noticed a little activity. A small group of foot soldiers came from the seemingly abandoned warehouse. There was something different about them. The way they moved, the way they all stood very still, and then moved together as if on command. It was almost like they weren't human.

Karai started backing away slowly from the roof's edge.

"Leo we have to go, now" she whispered as he began to also make a silent retreat.

"There's something off about those foot soldiers. Do you know what it is?" he asked as they ran, but before she could answer two of them suddenly appeared before them. Without hesitation Leo drew his katanas, and sliced through the first, surprised to see sparks fly rather than blood.

"What the…?" he muttered. He looked over to see Karai put down two more, as they quickly became surrounded. Not too far from the building they were watching, Leo looked over there to see the foot soldiers almost pouring out of it. He got out his t-phone and sent a voice message to his brothers. He and Karai were going to need backup.

* * *

Mikey and Donnie watched as a white unmarked van pulled up not too far from a movie theater. It sat and idled in an alley, but no one got in or out of it. It had been sitting there for more than a half hour.

"You think we should go down there and check it out D?" Mikey asked already too antsy to really wait any longer. Donnie shook his head slowly and lowered his goggles again.

"No, I think we should wait. I'm gonna run another scan on the license plate number, and see if I can come up with something this time. So far it doesn't match any license plate from any state."

"Oh."

"Donnie?"

"Yes Mikey."

"I'm hungry."

"First of all you just ate before we came out here. Second of all, we'll eat at Asha's house." Donnie said, trying to not be distracted.

"I don't think we're gonna be able to make it to her house tonight, and that's actually lame to the highest degree of lameness," Mikey said moving his hand towards his belts.

"Why do you think we aren't gonna get there?" Donnie asked, looking up and seeing a glimmer in Mikey's eyes that only meant one of two things; pizza or a good fight and there wasn't a single pizza in sight. Donnie readied his own staff while following Mikey's gaze to the parked van. Some men were getting out of it. Donnie looked through his goggles to see exactly what Raph had told him about.

"Dude, these guys are like a triple set of twins or something. They all look alike Donnie, this is freaky man. You think they're aliens or something?" Mikey asked with a wide grin and his chucks twirling.

"They're not aliens, but I think they might be robots," Donnie said as one of the men looked up in their direction. He alerted his comrades as they all looked up and raised their guns to fire. They didn't appear to be concerned over being seen or heard. The turtles took cover, and just as they were going to make their way down both their t-phones went off. It was Leo.

"Guys, me and Karai are pinned down at the warehouse district. I need you asap!"

"Shit!" Donnie exclaimed in a rare outburst of language. "Mikey we gotta make quick work of these guys and help Leo," Donnie said trying to get out of the range of those strange guns. Were they shooting lasers?

"Help Leo _and_ Karai Donnie. She's with him remember?" Mikey said as they attempted to out flank the robots, but saw that some unwanted attention started to be drawn to the commotion. They would have to dispatch them in order to get to Leo.

"Yes, help Karai too Mikey," Donnie said as he and Mikey turned to face the unfamiliar threat. Donnie spun his bo staff, and Mikey took a stance with his nunchucks.

"Now, let's do this."


	8. Footbots and Kraang Droids

Raphael wasn't getting any action tonight on the patrol front. Not a single mugging, or beating to stop. That should have been good news, but not when you wanna bust some heads. He was sitting on a rooftop doing absolutely nothing when he got Leo's message. For a split second he thought about the fact that Karai was in need of help too, and then shook that thought out of his head. His brother was in trouble and that's all that mattered. He gave a quick call to Donnie only to find him and Mikey were also in a scrap. He was closer to them, so he detoured there first and then they could all make it to help Leo.

He was almost about eight or maybe even ten blocks away from Donnie and Mikey, and he was going as fast as he could. He got there in time to see six identical robots at their feet. He raced up to them sai at the ready, but then realizing he may not need them.

"Dammit," Raph said disappointedly, and reluctantly put his sai away.

"What're you so happy about?" Donnie asked looking over his shoulder at Raph.

"I didn't get to bust heads. I hate doing patrol for nothin'," he complained and knelt down next to Donnie who was now inspecting the robots. Mikey was absently kicking one of them repeatedly, the thump of his foot on metal forming a sort of beat. Raph could hear Mikey starting to beatbox under his breath in time with his kicks.

"This is fascinating in a very weird sort of way. They're obviously robots, but what I can't figure out is how they're being controlled," Donnie said, grunting as he pulled the head off one of them. A few sparks flew but nothing else after that. He poked at the face a little, and Raphael could see the wheels turning in his brother's complex mind.

"Donnie, you can do your experiments later. Leo's still in trouble. Just take the head with you and study it at home," Raph said agitated and itching for a fight. In the back of his mind he was worried that Karai had somehow set his brother up, but he was trying not to think about that.

"You're right Raph," Donnie said, about to put the robot head on his pack until something moved underneath the suitcoat the robot was wearing. He stood there thinking maybe he imagined it until he saw it again.

"Raph, look," he said physically turning his brother's head to look at the robot. He noticed movement underneath the clothes of all the robots.

"What the…?" Raph said as his eyes went wide. It reminded him of that one scene from that movie Aliens, when the thing bursts out of the guy's chest. It slightly made him nauseous and that was saying something. They both turned to Mikey to get his attention. They caught him in full MC Mikey mode, even starting to rap a little.

"—I'm the M to the I-K-E-Y  
April can't get enough cause I'm so fly…"

The beat was sick, and he was just getting geared up when the movement under his feet caught his attention. His beatboxing died in his throat as something seemed to be wiggling around under the robot's clothes.

"Uh, guys…" Mikey said worriedly. "What's going on?" Mikey said as he cringed back a few feet, bumping into Raph and then slowly trying to crawl onto his older brother's shell, all the while looking back at the robot with a theatrically disgusted look on his face.

"Get offa me!" Raph yelled, pushing Mikey roughly when he realized Mikey wasn't just grabbing him, but actually attempting to climb on his back like a baby. Mikey was about to say something when a pink blob-looking thing burst out of the stomach area of one of the robots. It looked like a large brain, but then it opened its eyes and used tentacles alongside its body to move. The brothers let out a collective 'eeww' before they proceeded to kill all six of the creatures who had tried to run away.

"Oh man that was so gross!" Mikey exclaimed holding up one of his chucks and marveling at the goo that dripped from it.

"Yes, it most certainly was," Donnie said, taking out a wet wipe and cleaning the end of his weapon. He turned to Raph and smiled a little.

"Guess I won't be doing an experiment on it later after all," Donnie said looking over the heap of pink flesh and robot parts. He decided against taking it back to the lair just in case. He was sure this wouldn't be the last time they encountered these aliens. He figured he would research more thoroughly when he had time to, although it bothered him to his core to have seen alien life and not have the time to study it further there and then.

"Come on let's go. Leo's still in trouble as far as we know," Raph said already starting towards the warehouses before his brothers could say anything. Mikey followed immediately as Donnie took one more longing look back before he took off behind them.

* * *

Asha had gotten off work. She took time to talk to Casey and even invited him to the get together she was having. He said he'd stop by but he was still enjoying himself at the club. She had gone across the street to get something to drink when her t-phone went off. At first she thought about ignoring it. Whatever they were doing they could handle it. She wasn't part of the group and she was sure if they needed her they would call.

(You're not part of the group, you're part of the family, and what if they _are_ calling you?)

She debated it but then looked at her t-phone. The message had been sent out en masse by Leo. When she checked his position on the GPS she saw his icon over the warehouse district, and three icons moving towards his position. She wasn't any closer to him than they were, but if he was sending a distress call it was serious. Ex-boyfriend or not, whether he was now all snuggled up with Karai or not, if Leo was nothing else to Asha he was her friend. She certainly wasn't going to see him hurt or killed because she was in her feelings. The three icons that represented Raph, Mikey, and Donnie were closer to where she stood, perhaps only a few blocks away. She made her decision then. Asha called Maxine hoping that she would pick up on the first few rings, and was grateful when Max picked up on the first.

"Hey pretty girl, we got all the stuff for the party so don't worry about it. I ran into that girl April you told me about and she's helping me. I saw her when I came back to the apartment and found her waiting for you. She's cool Asha, I can see why you like her…" Maxine was going a mile a minute, and Asha could hear April's familiar laughter in the background.

"Mighty Max, I'm gonna be late coming home. Something came up, but it's not serious alright?" Asha said as Maxine fell silent. Her tone became serious when she spoke next.

"Asha you aren't in any trouble are you? Be honest with me, you know I have your scent and I'll find you so don't lie," Max warned. Asha knew she was dead serious.

"No I'm not in any trouble but a friend of mine needs a little help, so I'll be late. Talk to you later Maxine." Asha said hanging up and quickly hiding away in an alley. She had her backpack with her for change of clothes. Asha quickly stripped naked and shifted, putting her clothes in her pack and placing it on her back. She looked crazier than usual, an anthropomorphic lion with a backpack on. She made her way up on a roof to get a clearer view. A few blocks away she made out three shapes flying across the rooftops. Running on an angle, she caught up with them within a few minutes and fell in.

They all glanced at her and wordlessly acknowledged both their surprise and happiness that she was right there with them. No sooner than they got in the vicinity of Leo's position they could hear the uproar of fighting. A gaggle of foot soldiers were crowded on a single roof, but as the brothers and Asha approached, the crowd seemed to move as one to intercept. Even at a distance Asha could make out Leo's form and also Karai fighting alongside him. A familiar position for Asha, but she couldn't be sentimental right now. By his movement she could tell Leo was tired. How long had he been fighting? It didn't matter.

His brothers wasted no time jumping headlong into the battle, trying to close in on Leo's position and encircle him. Mikey was a blur with his nunchucks spinning furiously. He had cracked the heads of several foot soldiers before he noticed they weren't human.

"Hey yo guys, they're not real!" He said gleefully as he used every fancy move he knew to dispatch each foot soldier.

"We can see that Mikey, now quit talkin' and put 'em down, we gotta make it to Leo!" Raph yelled as he delivered kicks to the faces of three foot and buried his sai in the head of a fourth.

"Ha ha! This is so epic! Take that footbot!" Mikey exclaimed in pure joy as he knocked the head off one robot. "And take that too!" he cried again as he twirled his chucks Bruce Lee style complete with making kung-fu movie sound effects with his mouth. He even moved his mouth way more than necessary while talking, mimicking the English dub effect.

"You want to try my…"mouth moving excessively, "ninjutsu style?!" Then laughed raucously at his own antics. "Donnie, Raph, you have to fight them while you make a kung-fu movie!" Mikey screamed to the top of his lungs.

Raphael frowned at his brother, but then started doing the whole English dub thing while he fought too. "There's just no way," too much mouth movement "you're gonna beat me."

"I have to admit there is a certain appeal to killing something without actually taking its life, you know, because it's not alive," Donnie said, his brothers laughing but rolling their eyes at his bad attempt at a joke.

As they were fighting, the crowd around Leo didn't appear to be thinning out. He and Karai were doing an admirable job, but Asha could see the fatigue from where she stood. If Leo had seen them he made no sign of it. She took to another roof and roared long and loud. She saw his head snap up for only a second. A large contingency of footbots headed her way.

Asha's roar. He'd heard it but couldn't believe his ears. How had she found him? Why had she come to help him? He was flagging badly now, Karai was even worse considering she didn't have his stamina. They went down easily enough, but the sheer numbers were proving to be overwhelming. He'd sent for his brothers and through his own fighting he could now see them trying to make their way to where he stood. His heart swelled. It was an extreme boost to his morale, and he could tell that even Karai was digging deeper seeing that help was on the way.

His arms and legs were sore beyond belief, but he had to keep fighting. The footbots had gotten a little smarter as they appeared to adjust to Leo's fighting style. They were armed, and as long as he stayed out of their grip he was fine, but if they grabbed him he would have to exert too much energy getting loose. Many times the bots had tried to separate Karai from him, and it was a task not allowing that to happen. Why were there so many? It couldn't have been more than perhaps a couple hundred which was an absurd number, but it seemed like it was a couple thousand.

Leo looked over to see how Karai was doing and it wasn't good. She kept falling to her knees whenever she had to block, and she was too tired to dodge as nimbly as she was capable of doing. Leo sliced through four footbots to get to her and then held her with one arm, having to sheath one of his swords to hold her, and fight with the other.

"Don't be foolish Leonardo!" Karai yelled but sagged against him anyway. He could feel her trembling in his grip with a mix of fatigue and an endless supply of adrenaline.

"Save your strength. Back to back, now!" he commanded and she immediately obeyed. She leaned against him while using all her focus just to stay standing. She had heard what had to be Asha, and strangely it did give her a boost. At least someone had come to help.

Asha had managed to draw a crowd from both sides. It boxed her in, but allowed the three turtles to rush to Leo's side. Raph jumped onto the roof where Leo was, taking out at least six in one go from his landing alone. His sai glinted in the light of the full moon as he drove them into the heads and necks of the bots. He bulldozed his way to Leo's side and instantly went shell-to-shell. Mikey and Donnie were thinning the herd from the outside and working their way in. Raph did a very quick once over of his brother and was relieved to see no major injuries. Leo was just extremely tired. Karai was holding her side as well but also exhausted.

She'd turned her attentions to two incoming bots who had jumped over the crowd and were throwing stars at her. She blocked them all, but one bot was about to make her at least a foot shorter if Raph hadn't have thrown his sai at its head just in time. There was only a second to spare as her eyes widened in surprise at who had saved her life. Raph didn't know why he didn't just let it happen, then again he really did know. It was the vow made that they would not allow casualties on their watch. It was meant only for them, but was extended to April, Vern and then Asha when she came along. Like it or not, Karai was with the group, and so therefore could not become a needless casualty.

At the first opportunity, Karai retrieved Raphael's sai and tossed it back to him. He gave the slightest of nods and then continued to fight. Finally the crowd on their rooftop became just about twenty or so, and they were easily matched. The rest of them had Asha surrounded, perhaps about thirty or so bots cornering her. She was all teeth and claws, once again not having her weapon of choice on her person.

She'd learned that biting was less effective than slashing with her claws, or bashing them with brute force. Asha had utterly destroyed one bot and was using it as a shield to block the others. When that one got smashed to bits, she picked up another one. She released all her remaining frustrations on the bots around her, not completely satiated because there was no blood or cries of pain or fear, but it would have to do. A little bloodlust without the blood. Donnie helped her to clear the rest of them and then made their way to Leo. Asha stood back to allow Donnie to assess his brother's hurts. He scanned him once and nodded.

"Seems like you're okay Leo. I don't detect any serious damage, but I can do that more thoroughly at the lair."

"So little miss sunshine, care to explain why there just so happened to be a million footbots attacking my brother?" Raph accused wasting no time letting his thoughts be known on the matter. Karai's eyes narrowed as she walked towards the huge turtle.

"If you hadn't noticed they were attacking me too, and no, I have no idea why they were here smart ass," she said to a much taken aback Raphael. He blinked in surprise and then growled low in his throat.

"Raph! That's enough!" Leo shouted and stood between his brother and Karai. Raph stood his ground a little while longer before he relented to his brother. "Karai didn't set me up, and I don't wanna hear anything else about that."

Everyone was quiet for a few seconds until Donnie broke the silence.

"Where did they all come from?" He asked as Leo pointed towards the large building they all poured out of.

"That's the old auto assembly isn't it?" he asked no one in particular. Only Karai nodded in the affirmative.

"So that means it's a factory for these things, which in turn means I should blow it up immediately," Donnie said, reaching into his pack for materials to create a quick bomb.

"Did you know they were making robotic foot soldiers?" Asha suddenly asked Karai. Karai looked at Asha a moment before answering, noticing the drastic change in Asha's voice. Karai turned back towards the large factory.

"Shredder had Eric working on it through his company Sacks Robotics. It was something he thought of about a year ago or so. The last I had heard if it, they were in production of prototypes only. I'd forgotten about them until now actually. Never thought it would be ready so soon. Certainly hadn't anticipated encountering them."

"Do you know if there happens to be more factories like this?" Leo asked concerned at the implications of the foot just producing soldiers as they need to.

"Wasn't my area of expertise so I know very little about the plans to make these footbots as Mikey calls them." Karai answered.

"Convenient," Raph muttered. Leo shot him a look but didn't say anything.

"Donnie I think we should blow this place. You got what it takes to put it out of commission, or not?" Leo asked his brother. Donnie looked over his supplies once more before answering.

"I can't take out the whole building, but perhaps important parts of it," Donnie said a bit disappointed not to be able to blow it sky high.

"It'll have to do," Leo said. Asha stood behind him shaking her head, and noticed Karai doing the same.

"I think you should leave it alone. This city has been through a lot and so have we. It's obvious the foot is up to something…"

"Not to mention we fought aliens tonight too," Donnie interrupted.

"O-kaaay I wasn't quite ready to hear that one, but yeah they fought aliens too. I think the best thing to do is create a plan, think about what moves we should make. We don't need to blow buildings up and bring the attention of the authorities. They're already on high alert which makes things interesting for us," Asha finished. Leo considered it and then agreed with a nod.

"I think Asha is right," Leo said patting Donnie on the shell. "Maybe next time Don,"

"Aw man," Donnie said putting his supplies back and shooting Asha a playfully mean look.

"So, food is already there, friends are there, I say we meet up at my place and talk about it. Leo and Karai you are now begrudgingly invited. Can't make the plans without you two involved." Asha said as she turned in the direction of her apartment. The all looked at one another, then followed after her.

* * *

The flight from Japan was mostly pleasant for Kazuko. She got off the plane and got into a limo that was waiting for her arrival. Wasting not a moment, she immediately set off for the Sacks Estate. She was dressed in a black pencil skirt, waist-length hair in an updo, bright red lipstick that was almost her trademark, a suit jacket, and platform heels.

By the time they had driven up to the main gates it was well past midnight. Kazuko didn't care. Her limo was allowed in and Eric Sacks, dressed in silk pajamas and not expecting this visit, waited none too happily for them in his doorway. After telling her driver to wait for her, she breezed past Eric and went into the house without so much as properly greeting him. Scowling he followed after her.

"To what do I owe this unfortunate visit?" Eric said as he escorted her into the large foyer area.

"I've come here to make sure that your life remain the happy one that you've become accustomed to Eric-san," Kazuko said, smoothing her skirt to sit and crossing her pretty legs.

"And what is that supposed to mean?" he asked. Eric never liked the two women who now ruled the foot clan. They were crazier than the Shredder and more devious and cunning in their approach. Kazuko simply smiled.

"My connections tell me you have already tested the foot clan robots in the field. How did they perform?" Kazuko asked, her hands neatly folded on her lap and smile still in place.

"About as well as I expected, which wasn't very well. I deployed all of them in one fell swoop. They had a flaw that needs to be corrected before they will be effective," he said, requesting a drink of the maid who had silently entered the room.

"Oh, and what is this flaw you speak of?" She asked.

"Their AI was designed to be able to adapt to any fighting style within moments of encountering it. To put it simply the AI wasn't good enough so I deployed them to get rid of that batch. I have another already in production and they should be ready within a few days," Eric said, taking a sip of his scotch and looking over the rim of the glass at the woman sitting across from him.

"That's fine. I'm happy to hear you are already correcting your mistakes. Setsuko won't tolerate many of those, so let's just keep your little failure between us for now, shall we?" She said brightly. Eric made a non-committal type of sound but did not respond to that.

"I bet she's very pleased that Karai is dead in her grave," he said, smirking to himself while taking another sip. Kazuko's smile dropped.

"Setsuko-chan would not have had any problem dealing with the likes of her. She's dead because she was weak. We are alive because we are strong, and you are alive because you are somewhat useful for the moment, so I would watch my mouth if I were you Eric-san," Kazuko said, her voice dropping dangerously.

"Still a sore spot I see. Karai died in battle at the least, but I do know that neither you nor Setsuko have ever defeated her sparring or otherwise. She also didn't achieve her position on her back," Eric said, his words cutting her deeply by the way her eyes and lips narrowed.

"She was foolish not to take advantage where it was available. Oroku Saki was not her true father, so there was no reason for her not to enjoy her position more than she did. She made it difficult on herself with her stupid moral codes and she's dead now because of them. Eric-san this conversation is over." Kazuko said. She stood and made her way to the large double doors and saw herself out. She opened the back door to the limo and got in, speeding away without another word.

"Sayonara Kazuko-chan!" Eric mockingly called after her. When she was gone he breathed a sigh of relief. His outbursts would have cost him if that had been Setsuko, but Kazuko was younger and more easily rattled. She'd tell it of course, but it wouldn't make any difference. He went back into his home but did not sleep. He got another scotch and sat to drink it. Staying alive would be more difficult around those two than it had ever been around Shredder.


	9. At Last

Being a werewolf had its advantages. Raphael was sitting across the room, and he was nervous. Maxine could tell by the scent he was giving off, not exactly human pheromones, but not too far off either. His eyes kept darting around the room, resting most often on his own hands that were splayed over his knees. To say that Raphael was uncomfortable would have been an understatement. Maxine thought he probably wasn't used to being around a lot of people outside his immediate family.

Asha had been right about him. Raphael was not ugly, but he would take some getting used to. Max had gotten past everything except for his overall size and the presence of his extremely prominent shell. April was the one that had described them, and she hadn't exaggerated a single detail. It wasn't that she thought there was anything wrong or bad about any of them, after all she was a shifter herself and had even known a rare lizard shifter who was a chameleon. She simply found Raphael to be an enigma, one that she would love to solve if given a chance.

His other brothers were easy to peg. Mikey was the goofball and obviously the little brother. Maxine had a little brother and he was every bit as annoying and lovable as Mikey. Donnie was the quiet observing one, and he was also completely taken with Asha as he kept smiling and looking at her. Leo, the ex, was the quiet storm. She couldn't peg whether he was older or Raphael. She had gathered that Leo was in charge, but it didn't make him older. Many a pack alpha were younger than some of the beta males they ruled over. Raphael she had surmised was no beta even though he was not in charge. Raphael was an alpha male through and through, but his quiet demeanor seemed more borne of the simple unfamiliarity of being out of his comfort zone. From the way his hands would sometimes curl into loose fists, she figured he was probably most like Asha. Ready for fighting and prone to violence as a solution to problems.

Maxine crossed her long legs and smiled in Raph's direction. In response he gave a very small half-smile that was quickly hidden by a turn of his head. His eyes darted over to see if she was still looking his way, and glanced down when he saw that she was. He didn't know how much more of this being watched like a hawk crap he could take. He got up heading to the kitchen for more water, then cursing himself as he realized it took him right past this Maxine chick. When he had first walked through the door, she was standing to greet them all and he found she was quite tall, much taller than Asha. She had taken it pretty well actually. She didn't scream or act all weird, and for Raphael that was weird in and of itself. As a matter of fact, she kept looking at him like she was trying to figure him out. He wished she would either say something to him, or stop staring like an idiot. What was she looking at so hard anyway? He was a turtle. From what he was told she was a damn werewolf, so she had a nerve constantly eyeballing him.

Raphael was pouring himself some cold water when Maxine walked in right behind him. She just stood in the doorway, blocking it and staring at him…again. He drunk the water slowly not bothering to acknowledge her presence if she wasn't gonna have the cojones to talk.

"So, um, how tall are you?" Maxine asked, then immediately felt stupid. It was a lame question and not an ice breaker. Usually she was the smooth one, but in this case she found herself at a loss with how to approach a giant turtle for casual conversation.

Raphael slowly took the glass from his lips and looked at her, an annoyed look on his face. What kind of a lame question was that? He guessed he would answer it though, at least she finally said something rather than psychotically staring.

"I dunno, almost seven feet or so I guess. Never actually measured it," Raph said in a tone much nicer than his expression. He rinsed the glass and then moved towards the doorway, hoping like hell she would move without asking anymore dumb questions. Thankfully she did move, but she put her head down when he passed.

He looked back briefly at her to find her expression a bit deflated. He felt a little bad. He hadn't said anything wrong, but perhaps he could have stood to be a little more open to a small conversation. He caught her eye contact before he turned away.

"Sorry, that was a lame question," she said trying to play it cool. He could respect that.

"S'okay," he managed, shrugging one large shoulder before getting back to his seat. Maxine brightened and returned to her own seat.

"Donnie," Asha said patting the space on the floor next to her. "Why don't you come sit over here, and tell us about these Kraang things or whatever they're called."

Donnie happily scooted himself next to Asha. He was much more comfortable now that he had rested his equipment in the corner and off his shell. It was starting to take a toll on his neck and shoulders.

"Well, there isn't a whole lot to tell. I haven't had an opportunity to study or learn anything about the creatures we encountered. All I really know is what we saw. They are pink almost gelatinous creatures similar in appearance to a human brain. They have some kind of tentacles they use to walk, or scuttle, or whatever you wanna call it," he said. "I saved the napkin that I cleaned my weapon with after dispatching them. I've placed it in a container that should keep it fresh enough to study when I get it back to the lab," he finished, then grabbed another slice of pizza.

"Karai looks like she has something she wants to say," Asha said noting how Karai seemed to not be taken by as much surprise as the rest of the group. Karai looked up and gave Asha a sharp look before preparing to speak.

"I can't be completely sure about what I'm about to tell you, but I believe I may know at least a small bit of information that could help us figure out what these things are," Karai said, placing her plate with a single slice of pizza on the floor next to her.

"My father was highly secretive about mutagen and the origin of the substance. He always told me it was from…"

"Outer space," April said in the same childlike voice she had when she'd first seen the substance in her father's lab. Her eyes took on a look as if she were lost in a memory.

"Yes," Karai said, wondering how April could know that. Everyone looked at April.

"My father used to work for Eric Sacks. He let me come there most days after school since we didn't have a nanny to watch me. I'd come there and do my homework," April said, turning towards Karai, addressing her directly for the first time since she'd made her reappearance.

"It was there in that lab that I met the four turtles and the rat who would one day become who they are now. My father was one of the scientists charged with monitoring the effects of the mutagen on them after they were injected. I remember asking about it, mesmerized by the container and how everyone spoke about it in hushed tones, like it was a holy relic or something. My dad told me that it had come from outer space. He said that's what Eric told him, but that he didn't know any more than that." April went silent after that as did the whole room.

"What happened to your father?" Karai asked. April's head whipped around, her lip trembling.

"Sacks killed him that's what happened. Your so-called step brother, that's what happened to my dad," April was sitting up straight and looking directly into Karai's eyes with all the pent up emotions concerning that whole situation brimming just underneath the surface.

"I had nothing to do with that. I was a girl myself at the time," Karai defended although she saw it made little difference to April. To her, Karai represented all the circumstances surrounding the loss of her father. Oddly, Karai could relate completely to the feeling.

"Your foot clan family had everything to do with it though," April's voice was shaking a little as she sat up a little more, turning her whole body to face the female ninja.

"What do you want me to do or say at this point? I'm doing my best," Karai was a little exasperated. Her fatigue and frustration catching up to her. She didn't know April's story and didn't realize how she sounded.

"You and your foot clan 'family' have been causing me problems since the 90s. Eric killed my father after he found out that his employer was working for the Shredder. When it all came to a head my dad set the lab on fire. I was the one who saved the turtles and Splinter, only to have to help them turn around fight with you and your loving father. So excuse me if I'm not exactly jumping for joy about being around you, or kneeling at your feet oh great princess of the foot clan!" April cried, and then went into the bathroom to compose herself. Everyone was stunned at the level of vitriol in April's voice, none of them really having ever seen her this worked up. Mikey got up and checked on her, going into the bathroom with her. Her angry crying could be heard in the small apartment.

Asha's phone rang suddenly startling her so much she jumped off the floor a little. Maxine giggled at her, causing Asha to playfully shoot her a look. It was Casey telling her he was too drunk to make it. She told him Raph was with her and he begged to talk to him. Asha got up and surprised Raph by handing him the phone. Once he heard Casey on the other end, she could see his shoulders relax as he got into a loud conversation with a very inebriated Casey.

Asha took the opportunity to see about April. She and Mikey were coming out of the bathroom by the time Asha got up.

"You okay sweetness?" Asha asked April placing a hand on her shoulder.

"Yeah I'm fine, just got myself upset. I feel so silly for letting her get to me," she said smoothing her hair into a quick ponytail.

"Don't feel bad. It's okay to let it out. I'm gonna put on my night clothes, I'll be right back out," Asha said as she disappeared into the bedroom.

Before she could take her clothes off she heard a knock.

"Come in," she hollered through the door. Leo eased himself in closing the door behind him. Asha stood looking at him but didn't say a word.

"I know you probably don't want to talk to me right now, but please hear me out," the pleading note in his voice making her heart soften.

"What's up?"

"Well, the first thing I want to do is apologize to you," he started. Asha fanned him down and started to turn away as if he didn't need to say that. He grabbed her hand and held it, turning her to look at him.

"No Asha I mean it. I am so sorry. When you called me a liar I was offended and couldn't believe you said that, but when I thought about it I did lie to you. I led you on, but I never ever meant to hurt you. I wasn't sure about how I felt about you, and I should have been man enough to say it from the start," Leo took a deep breath, his eyes shining.

"Leo it's okay, you don't have to say…" she began but he interrupted her.

"I do have to say it. It wasn't okay, any of it. What you did for me tonight, coming to help me…why?" He was asking genuinely as if he couldn't guess.

"To tell the truth I thought about ignoring that message. Not because it was you, I actually didn't know that it was you, but because I needed some space and figured you guys have been hanging this long without me, you don't need my help every time something goes down. Then when I thought about it I checked the phone. When I saw it was you and you were in distress, nothing else mattered at that moment. Whatever my feelings are on the matter, you're my friend, and even though we're not together I didn't stop caring about your well-being," Asha said, sitting on the edge of her bed and dragging Leo along to sit next to her.

"I don't hate you. I don't think I could ever hate you Leonardo, but I have to admit fighting it out with Karai actually helped me release my emotions about it. Be careful about her by the way. I know you have a good heart and you want to believe the best, but tread carefully," Asha warned. Leo looked down sheepishly.

"You don't have to be ashamed, I just don't want you hurt. I'm not saying she hasn't changed, because I would guess dying and coming back might work wonders, but I'm just saying," Leo nodded. He reached over and smothered Asha in an embrace. When he pulled back he looked at peace.

"I don't know how you feel about the situation, but you should maybe talk to Donatello. He loves you, I know that he does. If you don't want to be with him, please don't make the same mistake I did with you. I know it sounds so hypocritical coming from me but, trust me on this one. He's super logical and practical, but Donnie is also very sentimental and sensitive," Leo said, watching as Asha's shoulders slumped.

"I know how Donnie feels about me. The truth is that I love him too, but you know he would not dare make a move without knowing for a fact that you were okay with it regardless of how he feels," Asha said. Leo nodded knowing that she had Donnie pegged on that.

"Well, why waste time?" Leo said standing. He leaned down once more and kissed the top of Asha's head.

"Thank you for accepting my apology. It means a lot to me," he said and then quickly exited the room.

When he stepped out he saw Donnie making his way to Asha's room, but blushed and turned around when he saw Leo come out of it.

"Hey Don, come here man," Leo said stopping Donnie in his tracks.

"Uh, yeah Leo? I was just trying to see if…I just wanted to know if…" Donnie stammered a bit, not being able to find the proper excuse, and feeling bad for needing one. Leo wrapped an arm around Donnie's shoulders.

"It's alright. Asha's in her room and I think she wants to talk to you," Leo said smiling and nodding towards Asha's room. Donnie's eyes brightened as much in disbelief as happiness to get the green light he thought he might never get. Leo patted his shell and went to take his seat next to Karai.

Suddenly Donnie was nervous. He walked up to Asha's room, the memories of their moment in her bathroom flashing through his mind. He swallowed a lump that had nestled in his throat. Lightly he knocked.

Asha was just putting on a long T-shirt and was about to put some leggings on when she heard the knock.

"Come in," she called, not surprised to see it was Donatello. He smiled nervously, pushed his glasses up for the millionth time, and fidgeted a little while standing in the doorway.

"I didn't mean to disturb you Asha, if you want me to just wait in the living room…I'll wait in the living room," he said blushing and turning around to leave. What was wrong with him? Where was the Donatello that leaned in for a forbidden kiss a couple of months ago? _Spring mating season went away, and he went with it is what happened_ , he thought to himself.

"Donnie," she called to him softly, and it reminded him the way she called his name that night. Suddenly he felt her fingers on his forearm pulling him fully into the room and into an embrace. He enveloped her in his arms and held her tightly, like he had done in so many dreams of his.

"Asha," he breathed into her hair and he twined his fingers into it. It was soft and curly and big and smelled of coconuts. She lay her head on his plastron, melting into the cool hardness of it. He wasn't cuddly from every angle, but he was there and real and grounded. She tilted her head to look into his eyes. Her bedroom light was on, and she lifted his glasses so that she could see them. She knew he could see her very well. He smiled, his gap teeth a perfect imperfection. His eyes weren't captivating on first glance like Leo's, but they were full of intelligence and depth, and threatened to draw her in and not release her if she allowed.

With her hands on either side of his face, she stood on her toes and pulled him towards her. His heart hammered in his chest. This was better than a dream, this was real. Asha was here in front of him, holding him and wanting to kiss him. He leaned down, a million thoughts running through his mind. Were his lips dry? Did his breath stink? His mind was going a mile a minute, and then came to a complete halt when he felt her thick soft lips, lightly and delicately touch his wide thin ones. She kissed him as though she were not sure if this was the right thing. Donnie assured her by drawing her in deeper, kissing her but not really moving his lips. He wasn't trying to French kiss her. He pressed his lips against hers with force, as if he could convey all his emotions for her through them. She reciprocated by wrapping her arms around his neck and lifting herself onto him. Donnie grabbed and held her by her hips and lower back, just holding her close. He broke the kiss first and rested his head atop hers, smiling and eyes closed, as she nuzzled in the crook of his neck, using one hand to play with the beads he wore around it.

Not putting her down, Donnie backed up until he was sitting on the edge of her bed. She ended up straddling his lap. At any other time his tail would have acted out, but it wasn't about that right now. She simply looked into his soul with those amber eyes of hers, holding his face again and looking straight into his eyes. She was seeing him. His hands kept rubbing up and down her back absently as they smiled at one another, neither of them needing words to express what they were feeling. She giggled and gave him one last hug around his neck.

"I think we should go back out there before they think we're up to no good in here," she whispered in his ear and it sent a current down his bridges.

"I think you're right," he said. He stood and reluctantly released her out of his embrace. She handed his glasses back to him and they left the room holding hands.

Mikey noticed something very different about his brother when he came out of the room with Asha. He was about to tease him, but when he saw Donnie holding her hand he decided not to. This was a long time coming for Donnie, as he had confided in Mikey many a time about how conflicted he felt about Asha. Being in love with his brother's girlfriend was seriously messing with his genius brother's sense of honor. Mikey looked at Donnie and gave him a wink. Donnie blushed in response and sat, holding Asha's hand in his lap. Mikey nudged April, and when she saw it she smiled brightly at the both of them.

Raph had long since ended the conversation with Casey, and everyone had eaten to their fill. A bad horror movie was playing more for background noise than any other reason. They all looked at each other, not knowing what to do next. They needed to make some kind of plan to counter the foot. Only problem was they had no idea what the foot were even up to. Having to deal with aliens was another issue altogether.

"We need to figure out what the foot clan are up to, that's the first thing I think we should be concerned about," Leo said, and then all eyes were on Karai.

"What? I don't know either," she said.

"Yeah but you're the only one who knows how they work dudette. You gotta have at least _some_ idea right? I mean, if you were head of the foot in this situation what would _you_ do Karai?" Mikey asked. Everyone murmured their agreement. Karai sighed loudly as she thought about how to answer it.

"Well, the first thing I would do is get rid of all those who were loyal to the man I just killed and surround myself with people I trusted, or at least people who fear me," she said. All of a sudden her face brightened as if she'd had an idea.

"I think I know what to expect. The two women who are in charge now are ambitious if nothing else. They would get rid of the council by killing them and any other possible defectors. This makes the ranks thin. They would need to recruit more foot soldiers."

"Okay, but what the hell does that have to do with anything?" Raph asked. He was already not liking this even though he had no idea what Karai was thinking.

"We need to spy on them, and bringing in a new recruit would be a perfect way to place a mole in the ranks. This person will need to be basically trained in martial arts, or at the very least have the propensity for learning it. Question is who could we get that fits that bill?" Everyone went into deep thought over that.

"Why can't you do it?" Mikey asked.

"I'm supposed to be dead. They have no idea I'm alive. New recruits would not recognize me but I can't take the chance that one of the veteran members would. I need the element of surprise on my side as long as possible," Karai explained.

"You're dead, yeah that's right! Forgot about that, hehe, sorry," Mikey said sheepishly. Raphael just shook his head, resisting the urge to just reach over and pop his head.

"Well, Karai can't do it, the turtles definitely can't do it," Asha said as the turtles and Karai first looked to her and then to Maxine.

"No, and no," Asha said. "First, Maxine can't get involved with this. She isn't a fighter and she's certainly not a killer. Secondly, I may be able to get away with them not knowing me, but as soon as I get an opportunity I'm going to shift and then go on a killing spree," she shrugged and took a swig of soda. "It's just the way it is."

"I think I can speak for myself chicka," Maxine piped up. Asha shook her head vehemently, followed by Leonardo.

"Don't shake your head at me, I could handle that," Max said, getting annoyed at being spoken for.

"Maxine you don't have an evil bone in your body. You hate fighting, and you don't even like shifting really if we're being honest. You'd rather chill and have fun and be sweet. These foot clan people are ruthless and you've spent your whole life avoiding people like them. It's why I'm your bodyguard, so just let me guard you from this," Asha pleaded. She knew Maxine would struggle against her own nature if it meant helping Asha. She would never forgive herself if Maxine got hurt on her account.

"Maxine, I don't know you, but if Asha says you aren't prone to fighting this won't work for you. I would not feel right placing you in such imminent danger," Leo said. Maxine wasn't happy at all, but deferred to the judgment of her friend on this issue.

"I will do it," April said. The room went quiet again.

"No angel cakes, no. I can't let you do that," Mikey said, a rare stern note in his voice. The worry in his eyes was readily apparent.

"Mikey, sweetheart, this is my choice. I'm the only one here that even has a chance at this," April said, stroking Mikey's face as his eyes brimmed with unshed tears. Just thinking of her in danger broke his heart in two. He grabbed her hands in his and got to his knees.

"Please April, I'm begging you not to volunteer for this. I'll do anything you ask if you just promise me you won't," Mikey pleaded. She could feel him start to shake. April got to her own knees.

"Mikey calm down, please sweetheart. I'll be okay,"

"No you won't be okay! It's too dangerous," the tears started to fall as she wiped them.

In the background Karai had to stifle a groan and stop herself from rolling her eyes. She wasn't used to such…weakness.

"Listen to me Michelangelo. I have a bad feeling that if I don't do this, then many more people will be in trouble, maybe lose their lives. No one else among us can do this. I'm a reporter and a damn good one. I'm used to sneaking around and finding out things I'm not supposed to know. I need you to trust me on this, please Mikey, please," April pleaded with him.

Mikey's lip was quivering and she could see he was wrestling with it, trying to trust her as she had asked. Finally after a long while he kissed her hands and a hard resolve came over his amiable features.

"If you have to do this, then fine, but I have to train you," he said. Karai shook her head.

"No, that won't work. I'll train her," Karai said. Mikey's head snapped in her direction. She was taken aback a little as she had never seen true anger on the orange clad turtle's face before.

"I said I would do it and I meant that," Mikey said, a rare growl underlining his words.

"Mikey is more than capable to train me, I don't need you to do that Karai," April said backing Mikey up.

"Wow," Karai said, a smile breaking out on her face as she chuckled and shook her head. "Michelangelo, you are more than a capable ninja, which goes without saying, but you can't train her the way she needs to be trained."

"How do you know what I can and can't do, huh Karai? You don't know everything!" Mikey countered.

"No, I don't know everything, but I know the foot and I know what it takes to train around them. You would be too soft on her. Every time she cried out in pain you'd stop and check on her, or give her a potty break when she asked for it. Tell me Mikey, could you really unleash on April, bruise her possibly or hurt her and then not lose sleep over it?"

Mikey put his head down. He knew at this point that Karai was absolutely correct. He could never hurt April. No one said anything. Not even Leonardo could argue with that line of logic. Knowing that the plan had been solidified by collective silence, Karai nodded her head.

"Then it's settled," Karai said as April contemplated whether she had made the right decision. "April, we will begin your training tomorrow."

* * *

 **A/N: I know the chapters are getting a little long, and I promise I won't keep doing that the whole way through. It's just that there's a lot to say sometimes, and not always wise to drag certain things on for more than a few chapters. Thanks so much for hanging in there with me.**


	10. Childhood Memories

The past week had been eventful for Setsuko to say the very least. She had sent Kazuko to New York, and she had wiped out the antiquated old fools of the High Council. Setsuko had invited them all to a dinner and poisoned them. Then she sent assassins to deal with any and all dissenters. Afterwards, she had killed the assassins herself. This left her free to build the foot clan as she saw fit, but it also left her with the dilemma of gathering new members. Her private jet landed on a small airfield just outside the city. Opting to drive herself, she headed straight for Saki Tower, the base of all operations now.

Since the facility in Brooklyn had been bombed, all important assets had been moved to the sub-levels of the tower. When she arrived, Kazuko was waiting for her. After they greeted each other, she was led to a sub-basement where the strange Kraang portal was housed. It was guarded by the kraang droids, the aliens themselves visible inside the robots.

Two droids flanked Setsuko and Kazuko as they exited the elevators onto a floor that was a long hall, with doors lining either side. At the end of the hall was a large double door, where two more droids stood watch.

"Kraang greets the one who is called Setsuko, from the clan known as the foot. Kraang Prime is waiting," one of them stated. Setsuko brushed past them and entered the darkened room. On the far wall was a very large wall mounted monitor. A comfortable chair sat facing the blank screen and there was nothing else in the room.

Setsuko felt a bit tense for the first time since violently assuming authority over the clan. She had never been invited into a meeting such as this and had no idea what to expect from this Kraang Prime. Setsuko took a seat in the chair, and the screen came to life. The image of the enormous Kraang Prime filled the monitor completely. The alien leader seemed surprised to be seeing someone other than Shredder.

"Kraang Prime speaks only to the Shredder," it said, trying to peer around the room. Its lips were like small frills and they wiggled and moved with each word it spoke.

"The Shredder is no more, Kraang Prime. You will deal with Setsuko," she said proudly tapping her own chest. The Kraang did not seem pleased, but nevertheless resigned itself to deal with this new insolent worm of a human.

"Kraang Prime trusts that the deal we have made with the one called Shredder still stands," it said eyeing her with skepticism. Setsuko had no idea what deal the alien was referring to, and doubted anyone else did.

"When will you deliver the next batch of mutagen?" Setsuko asked, much to the surprise of the alien on the screen. It momentarily looked shocked, then its eyes narrowed suspiciously.

"Setsuko does not know the terms of the deal Kraang Prime has made with the one called Shredder. There will be no more mutagen. You will provide Kraang Prime and all kraang what we need to enter your world," it said, managing to sound annoyed and smug at the same time.

It said 'enter your world' as if it were a field trip, but it really meant invade. They had already begun to infiltrate into the population. The droids were in the city and may have been linked to the spike in abductions. Now they want something that helps them invade, New York? No, you don't invade a city, you invade….. _What had Shredder agreed to with these things?_ Setsuko thought to herself, no small amount of anger now raising its head at having been left almost completely out of the loop on this. Setsuko took a deep breath, determined not to show that she had been rattled by what this alien was saying to her.

"What is it that the kraang need in order to 'enter' our world?" Setsuko had to ask directly. It bothered her greatly that she had no recourse other than to ask and then believe what Kraang Prime was saying.

"The mutant known as Leatherhead entered our dimension and took from kraang what is known to us as a power cell. Kraang Prime demands it. In return, Kraang will help capture and destroy the ones known as the turtles," Kraang Prime said.

Setsuko smiled slightly. Shredder had been obsessed with destroying the turtles for the last couple of years. She however had no use for the vendetta. The turtles were of no consequence to her. If they interfered with her plans she would kill them, if not they may be allowed to live. She also had no immediate use for a steady supply of mutagen. In short Kraang Prime was useless to her and the foot as it stood. Whoever this Leatherhead was, was also inconsequential as far as she was concerned, but she needed to make a show of recovering this power cell for the aliens. However, she would stall as long as possible until she could figure out how to destroy the portal. The kraang were not beneficent creatures, and they would only attempt to subjugate the foot clan the same as everyone else. How Shredder had not anticipated their betrayal, or how he planned to counter it once it became apparent she didn't know. She did know that there had been one other mutant that Shredder entrusted with this knowledge, and she needed to send out someone to find him.

"Of course, the foot clan with honor its arrangement with you Kraang Prime. We will recover the power cell so that you may operate the portal. Now, if that will be all I have other matters to attend," Setsuko said as she rose from her seat.

"Kraang Prime will contact you soon," it said as the screen once again went blank.

Setsuko came out of the room to find her clan sister waiting patiently for her. Without a word they made their way out of the sub-basement and into the building proper where Shredder's office was. Once inside Setsuko allowed herself to relax a little.

"Setsuko, how have things gone?" Kazuko asked her. They were sitting on either side of a small coffee table facing the large windows that overlooked the Hudson.

"It had gone well, but now I need you to oversee another task for me. We are in need of recruits. I don't care what method you use to gather them, but make sure they're the dregs of society. I need people that will not be missed by anyone," Setsuko said. Kazuko nodded and got out of her seat.

"Is Xever still alive?" Setsuko asked.

"Yes he is, onesan (big sister)" Kazuko replied. She wrinkled her nose a little. Xever had been handsome before he turned into a mutant. Now he just reeked of that fishy smell.

"Find him. He will know exactly how to get new members. Also, send in those soldiers that were waiting." Setsuko said. Kazuko bowed then left to find Xever. The small group of soldiers entered the room and knelt before her.

"Find Tiger Claw and the mutant Leatherhead and bring them to me alive."

"Yes Master," they choruses and left immediately.

* * *

"Again!" Karai shouted to a very sweaty, tired, and agitated April. It had only been a week and she was already regretting her decision. April rolled her eyes and then prepared to do her thirtieth army pushup.

"Two more for rolling your eyes," Karai instructed as she stood over April.

"What?!" April started to complain.

"Four more for talking back. Now you either shut up and continue, or I can keep adding more, your choice princess," Karai said sternly. April closed her mouth and completed this portion of her workout.

April hadn't ever thought of herself as out of shape, but the workout regimen that Karai laid out for her was nearly killing her. Mikey was watching in the doorway as he has been for each and every session. He never interrupted, but he would cringe or scowl depending on how rough he thought Karai was being. He understood April wasn't used to this, but this was no more than what he and his brothers endured before they started actual ninja training. Besides, he was proud of April for hanging in there and keeping to her word.

Leo stood next to Mikey as they both watched in silence. Leo looked at his brother, the concern for April knitting his brows.

"April is proving strong. I know it's just strength and endurance, but still," Leo said in an attempt to assuage Mikey.

"It's not April I'm concerned about," Mikey said, his tone much darker than Leo was comfortable with. He looked at Mikey a moment longer before turning to watch the two women. They had moved on to crunches.

"Karai won't hurt April. None of us would allow that to happen Mikey. We love her just as much as you do. She's our sister," Leo said. Mikey turned to him briefly before turning his head again. His expression was softer.

"I know. It's just so, weird to have Karai here doing this instead of us. At least it should be sensei ya know?" Mikey said. Leo nodded. It was kind of weird, but in a way befitting. He thought it would help soften his family's heart where Karai was concerned if she could do this the right way. He knew that it would help build the broken trust between them. Not to mention that in spite of the emotional dynamic, Karai was nothing if not an exceptional kunoich, and she was beginning to prove she was a competent teacher as well. She was tougher than a drill sergeant, but then what else was expected from a daughter of the foot clan?

April let out a terrific sigh and fell back on the mat, a picture of pure exhaustion.

"Get up cream puff, it was only a two hour workout," Karai said, rolling her eyes a little and extending a hand to help April up. April swatted at the hand weakly and lay there panting.

"You're…trying to….kill me," April managed to say between gasps for breath. After a few moments she managed to get into an upright position. Mikey came over with a towel and big bottle of cold water. April accepted it graciously as she mopped her forehead, and took several huge gulps of water.

"I'll go get the shower ready okay angel cakes?" Mikey said soothingly. April managed a nod and a smile before Mikey got up to get it ready.

Karai walked towards Leo whom she saw had a little smile playing at his lips.

"So what are we going to do about this whole spying thing? Have you thought of the fact that April is not quite a celebrity but she is recognizable?" Leo asked. Karai thought about it.

"I figured with a haircut and a little dye she could get by. Dye her hair a brighter red, cut it to a pixie cut, maybe change her makeup and style of dress so she can look the part a little more," Karai said. Leo smiled a little brighter and nodded as they both looked back at April who was trying to get to her feet. He tried to imagine April as Karai described and thought it wouldn't look too bad.

"I remember having these types of days when me and the guys were kids. Since we had so much energy sensei would sometimes make us run for miles in the sewer directly afterwards, and only then would we be truly tired," he said as Karai sidled up to him. She thought of having similar training days, and was surprised by the amount of emotion that simple memory triggered. She suppressed it by forcing a smile of her own. Thinking of her rigorous upbringing both saddened her and filled her with the satisfaction of knowing Shredder was dead.

"I know your training had to be similar," Leo asked in the interest of good conversation. Karai's featured hardened.

"Not entirely." She said stiffly. She was watching April get up off the floor finally and amble towards them on sore legs.

"Oh? How is that?" He asked good-naturedly.

"We trained hard like this, but your sensei didn't pit you against your training mates in a fight to the death to determine who was strongest. I was ten when I made my first kill." Karai said, her face a mask of unreadable emotion. Leo was shocked. Only a monster would do that, and to a young child no less.

"There were twelve of us. We had come to what we thought was the end of our training, ready to become full members of the foot clan, but it was not to end as we assumed it would. To everyone's surprise he paired us off telling us to stand next to who we felt were our best friends in the group. In our naiveté we thought it was to celebrate, so I chose my friend Suki. When we were all settled he then told us of a final test," Karai continued as she thought back to that fateful day.

"A ninja must be prepared to carry out any mission. A true ninja must detach themselves of all useless emotion and harden their hearts. Only then will you have proven your worth and loyalty to the foot clan," Oroku Saki said as he eyed each student before him. Their jubilation just a moment ago, dissolving into a more somber mood. None of them knew what was coming, but they were starting to realize that it would not be celebratory.

"A ninja must not hesitate in his or her duties. There is no mission that must go unfulfilled, lest you have died trying to complete it. With that said, I give you your first mission," he continued in the silence of the room. The children were giving unsure sideways glances to each other. Some of them were trying to get eye-contact with Karai in the hopes that she knew what her adoptive father was going to do, but it became evident that she was just as surprised as they all were.

"Your first mission as ninja of the foot clan, is to kill the person standing next to you," a collective gasp went into the air as the children stood there shocked. One or two of them began to shake their heads and cry, the gravity of the words sinking in quickly.

Karai and Suki looked at each other in horror. Suki was clearly in denial and was about to refuse when she saw Karai's face go from disbelief to reluctant determination. It was a look of sorrow, and unspoken apology but it was obvious to Suki that Karai meant ultimately to carry out the deed. However, it was a boy named Nagi who struck first, cutting the head off his friend Hiroyuki.

"There was hardly any blood when he did it," Karai continued much to the horror of a very disturbed Leonardo. Mikey had rejoined them in time to hear the tale.

"Hiroyuki was afraid, fight-or-flight had taken root. When you're in that state the body pumps oxygenated blood to the muscles for more strength to do either one. So, when his head was severed from his body there was almost no blood, not like in the movies where there's a geyser of it," Karai said, her expression blank as she was deep in the throes of the memory now.

"Suki and I faced off against one another. She was highly skilled, but I knew all her moves and I knew that she was weakest to the left. I tried to make it fast, and I succeeded. I feinted to her left and raised my tanto, slicing her carotid artery. It was a fine cut, you could almost hear the whistle of the blood as it sprayed from her throat. I didn't want to turn around to watch her die. Suki grasped at my leg and held it tightly, urging me to face her and finally I did. Shredder was watching me, and seemed pleased that I was able to look upon the work of my own hands. When I looked into her face she was trying to smile. I expected hatred, but instead I found forgiveness. That hurt worst of all. I decided at that moment that I would not love anything or anyone else for the rest of my life, which was of course the point of the test."

Mikey and Leo exchanged a quick glance, both conveying a sadness at the thought of that. Karai remained seemingly unphased by the telling of her story. She turned to Leo, switching the subject completely.

"Are we going out for patrols tonight? We should be gathering information. If they are going to start recruiting we need to know where. Typically there's more than one place and more than one way we do that. The most popular way is underground street fighting to determine toughness, but the venues change day to day and could be anywhere in the city. If we talk to some thugs and lowlifes, we should be able to come up with a few spots to check out and then go from there," she stated. Although it was abrupt, Leo was quite happy to change the subject.

"Sure we're going on patrol and we'll do what you suggest. It seems the best way to get information as of now," he stepped into the dojo and prepared to do some meditation. Karai also came in intending to join him. He allowed it, even lighting an incense for her as well as a candle.

She sat next to him wordlessly and crossed her legs. Karai was hoping that Leo didn't want to discuss what she'd shared with them a few minutes ago. Although she could tell he wanted to, something inside him must have just known. He didn't speak, but instead closed his eyes and slipped quickly into a trance-like state. She watched him for a moment, marveling at how good of a ninja he had become without the cruel tutelage. Karai then closed her own eyes and followed his example.

* * *

They had split up not long after their escape from the Brooklyn facility. They had all chosen Leatherhead to safeguard the power cell. Rockwell was too tempted to use it, Pigeon Pete was too careless, and Slash had no interest in it at all. That left the mutant alligator to handle it.

He went into their dimension that night and took it, knowing that it wouldn't delay the invasion for long, but hoping to buy at least a little time. The crystal it was made from was in abundance in Dimension X, but it took time for the kraang to refine it. He knew they were either near to perfecting the mutagen, or had already done so but they had to try something. After all, only he and his friends were privy to the invasion plot outside of Shredder and the kraang themselves.

Leatherhead took to the sewers so that he would not be easily found, and so that the kraang would have a hard time tracing the power cell's signature. He had no personal use for it which made it easier to keep hidden, but now he had started to encounter kraang droids. Leatherhead needed assistance, but did not want to leave the sewers to go to his friends. He thought about the four turtles that had escaped with them that night. Just before parting ways completely, he saw them enter the sewers. He decided to come looking for them. Perhaps if they knew of the plot and understood how dire the situation was, they would be willing to help out. It was a chance he would have to take. Leatherhead sighed and set out in search of the turtles.

* * *

 **A/N: It may seem strange that a disguise for April includes dying her hair a brighter red. I'll remind readers that I am working with the 2k14 April, and strangely enough in the movie April is more a brunette than a red head. I also thought a pixie cut would have been cute and edgy for April.**


	11. Xever Returns

It had been nearly two weeks since the night he and Mikey fought those aliens. After the get together at Asha's place, Donnie got home and placed the alien tissue sample under the microscope to examine it. So far as he could tell, the tissue did not resonate with anything on the periodic table, yet the kraang were surviving in Earth's atmospheric conditions with little to no outside equipment or technology.

Donatello sat back in his rolling chair made of old skateboards, and rubbed a calloused hand over his face. He lifted his glasses and rubbed his tired eyes. He was up most of the night, slept about three hours then got a cup of coffee and got back to work. His insomnia was working overtime as well, so he knew that at least over the course of the next few days he would not get any rest. He looked at the clock on the wall of his lab and realized it was late afternoon. He rolled his neck to get the kinks out from being constantly hunched over the microscope, then hunched over his laptop figuring equations that may help him understand the creatures they encountered.

Donnie stretched his long arms, and stood to get a bite to eat when in came Asha with two fully loaded deli sandwiches on a serving platter, complete with two tall glasses of what appeared to be cold lemonade. It wasn't coffee but the sugar would be welcome. A broad smile spread over Donnie's face at the sight of her. He still couldn't believe that she was here and was his girlfriend. They agreed to take it slowly, but that was more than alright by him.

"Hey Donnie," Asha said handing him the platter of food.

"Hey Asha," he said, grabbing the platter and leaning further down to give her a peck on the lips. She pulled up an old folding chair he had stashed in the corner and sat next to him.

"I know you haven't bothered to take care of yourself so I made us some lunch," she said as she began to eat. Donnie touched the coffee mug that was less than half full of cold coffee and looked at her innocently.

"Don't give me those eyes, drinking ninety day old coffee doesn't qualify as taking care of yourself. There's nothing nutritious about that," Asha said, cutting him off before he got started on the merits of coffee.

"It's not ninety days old," he muttered under his breath. "It's only like a day and a half old," he mumbled some more. Asha just gave him a dry look and kept eating. She pointed to his food and he obediently ate it.

"Have you found out anything from your dried alien skin?" She asked snickering, knowing that speaking about his work with inaccurate terminology bothered him. Donnie shot her a playful look.

"For your information it's a necrotic tissue sample, and no I haven't found out anything useful. From what I've been able to gather, these creatures shouldn't even be able to exist here on Earth, but apparently that's wrong because they're here," he said, a frustrated note in his voice.

"You may need a live specimen to really find answers, but something tells me that wouldn't be a smart thing to do, bringing it back here I mean," she said, chewing thoughtfully and taking a sip of lemonade.

"Yeah I know," he said chewing absently. "Sandwich is good. You make it?"

"Nope Maxine did," Asha said. Donnie turned to her with a smirk smile. "She's here to bother Raph isn't she?"

"Yep."

"How's he dealing with that one?" Donnie asked already knowing the answer.

"You know what Raph is doing. Sitting around loving the attention and at the same time not really knowing how to handle it," she said as they both giggled about it. "You think he likes her?"

Donnie nodded. "Yeah he likes her because she's tall, although he admitted thinking she was a little dorky."

"Dorky? That's a new one," she said. Donnie shook his head.

"No it's not. Raph thinks everybody is a dork except him," he said and they both giggled again.

"Thanks," he said, looking at her and smiling softly.

"For what?" She asked, wiping a bit of mayo off the side of his mouth with a napkin.

"For being you. For helping me take my mind off this for a little while," Donnie said still smiling that soft thoughtful smile at her.

"Mmm, I've got something else I can do to take your mind off of work," Asha said, slipping out of her seat and settling onto his lap. She wrapped her arms around his neck, and gave him a lingering kiss.

"On a scale of 1-10 of how distracting this is, I rate it an eleven," Donnie said, licking his lips and going in for another. His arms found their way around her waist and held her. He allowed her to break the kiss after giving a few more. His eyes wandered over his monitors, a constant thing he did out of habit, when something moved across one of the screens. He didn't react, as it could have been a rat or anything, but he became a little more alerted as it crossed another screen. This time whatever it was seemed a whole lot bigger than a rat.

Donnie sat up straight as Asha stood, trying to look and see what had him spooked. For a minute she didn't see anything, until it crossed another screen, this time it was a lot closer to the lair. The looked at each other, before Donnie sounded the alarm.

* * *

Xever was having a hard time dealing with Shredder's death. He must have been knocked out cold when it was happening, or else he would have died trying to save him. That night in the cathedral, he awoke to a sight that shook him to his core. Shredder's headless body lay not a few yards away from where he was regaining consciousness. After that, Xever had to go to Stockman-fly and practically beg him to create better oxygen tanks for him. The punishment for asking this favor, was that Xever had to watch Stockfly eat after bringing him live food of every description. A shiver went down his dorsal fin at the thought.

After that, Xever struggled to find aim and purpose. It was Shredder whom he credited for getting him out of the Brazilian hell hole in the first place, and giving him a life worth living. Sure being mutated into an ugly fish was a glitch in the matrix, but other than that he had it pretty good. Being able to do pretty much what he wanted and having to answer only to Shredder was better than he expected his life to turn out. Now, that protection and the person who for many years gave Xever direction in his life was gone.

He resorted to running petty scams, stealing and the like to survive. However fortune seemed to be smiling on him once again. He didn't know how such a beautiful woman found him, underneath an overpass and sitting in squalor, but she had. As she got closer he recognized her as one of Shredder's elite guard that he favored so much. It was the younger one, Kazuko. Oddly he was glad to see her. He figured she was probably taking Shredder's death pretty hard too, even though she would have been too tough to show it.

"Kazuko, lovely lady. What brings you here to Xever's humble abode?" He asked mockingly, spreading his arms wide to indicate the vast expanse of trash he was surrounded in. Her nose wrinkled slightly, the only indication that she was disgusted completely by everything she saw.

"Orders from Master Setsuko," she said, approaching him but keeping a respectful distance. His fish smell had somehow become even more potent than she recalled.

"Is that so? What can I do for her?" He asked settling back down onto an arrangement of cardboard boxes and paper.

"She demands that you assist in acquiring new members for the foot clan. She seems to think you would know the best way to go about that," said Kazuko.

"She demands it does she?" He asked, quirking a non-existent brow.

"Yes she does. How soon can you get yourself together to complete this task?" Kazuko asked, trying to get this seen to so that she could leave as soon as humanly possible.

"I can start tonight. All I have to do is arrange some street fights, you'll have new members in no time," Xever said, happy to have something to do and thinking about how he could make a few dollars in the process.

She produced a small phone from a bag she was carrying and tossed it to him.

"You will report directly to me about your progress from week to week. I suggest you work as quickly as possible. Time is of the essence. We can't afford to carry this on for more than a few months if we want to find some quality talent." Kazuko, satisfied that Xever understood what was expected of him turned to leave, grateful to be on her way out of there. He saw how she was trying to get away from him, and for a moment he thought about making up some reason to keep talking so she could stay, just to bother her but changed his mind. He really did need to get it together and this was just the thing he needed. He looked at the phone she'd given him for a second, then made a few calls. He could start recruiting tonight.

* * *

Raphael was trying not to sit too close to Maxine, but she kept inching over to him. The only way to get away from her would be to actually get up and sit in the chair rather than the couch, but even he thought that might be just a tad too rude. If he were honest, he rather liked the attention she was trying to give him. She wasn't being pushy but she was being persistent. She seemed to genuinely want to get to know him and be around him. He remained confused by that. He knew she was flirting with him, but the confusion was about why she was doing that. Really, why did any of these women find them attractive? All of them were pretty, even Karai. Usually it was Donatello they all had to tell to stop overthinking situations, but he couldn't help it.

Raphael looked over to Maxine who was actually watching the horror movie he picked out. He tried to put on the grossest one he could find in an effort to send her packing, but she was enjoying it. Actually, it was his favorite movie but still. She was tall which he liked very much. If he kissed her he wouldn't have to bend down so….whoa whoa kiss her? Did he really just think that thought? Ugh, he was getting as sappy over girls as Leo was. He wiped a palm over his face, annoyed to find it was sweaty. He cast another glance at the girl sitting on the couch next to him. She was Mexican, tall, coal black hair, had a little accent that he liked, long legs, and a bubble butt. She wasn't skinny and that was fine with him. He actually liked thickness in a girl. Asha had a nice body but she was too muscular for his taste. Maxine on the other hand was toned without all the definition.

Finally the movie ended. He was about to put in a werewolf movie just to see how she would react, when Donnie came bursting out of the lab like his shell was on fire.

"Guys I saw something on the monitor, something huge and it's headed our way!" He exclaimed and headed straight for the weapons wall. Raph jumped up and saw that Mikey emerged from the depths of his room having heard Donnie shouting to the top of his lungs.

"Max go to my room and don't come out until I say!" Raph shouted to Maxine. She hesitated at the sudden commotion and sat staring at him like he had grown a second shell.

"Maxine move your ass. Now!" Raph roared again, happy to see that got her going in the right direction fast.

Karai and Leo came out of the dojo as Raph, Donnie, and Mikey were going in. Asha was watching the wall of monitors trying to see the image again and then pointing when she did.

"There it is!" Asha shouted then she looked closer and thought she saw a tail. She pursed her lips in thought. Then slowly a smile crept across her face. She knew who this was although she was surprised and thought she'd never see him again. She turned around to see everyone armed and ready, even Splinter.

"I think I know who this is guys," she said calmly as she walked towards the entrance of the lair. Everyone looked at each other in confusion. Donnie stepped out and walked over to Asha.

"How can you be sure you know what's going on?" He asked, keeping his staff ready just in case.

"I got a good enough look at the monitor. It's cool, I got it," she said as she went outside the lair and into the tunnel. Donnie turned to Leo, shrugged his shoulders then followed after Asha.

She turned a corner and walked slowly, not wanting to startle their visitor just in case. They walked a little further and turned one more corner and there he was, catching his breath.

"Leatherhead? Is that you?" She called as his large head snapped up. He growled until he saw who was talking to him and that she was accompanied by one of the turtles he sought. He didn't recognize her by sight, but he caught her voice.

"Yes, it's me lion. I have come with information, and to ask a very important favor," he said, standing up as straight as he could. He held out his hand and uncurled his large claws to reveal a container filled with a soft pink glow. The reflection of its color and the way it seemed to pulsate, filled Donatello's eyes with wonder as his mouth stood open slightly. Unconsciously Donnie reached for it but Leatherhead snatched it back.

"It's volatile turtle. Can we go inside? I have much to discuss with you and the others," the mutant alligator said. Donatello motioned him towards the entrance as they all walked in much to everyone else's surprise.

"Leatherhead?" Leo asked in surprise. The alligator stepped forward and shook hands with Leo.

"Hello Leonardo," Leatherhead said, and was about to relax until he saw Karai. Immediately his eyes clouded over as his third eyelid slid over them.

"You," he growled, hunkering down on all fours getting ready to charge her. Karai raised her weapon defensively, but honestly didn't know how she was going to defend against him. She'd seen his destructive power and it was unorthodox and frightening to behold.

"Leatherhead!" Leo shouted in an effort to get his attention. It almost didn't work, as they stood facing each other a very long time. Eventually after several long minutes, Leatherhead's eyelid slid back and disappeared, but he still kept his guard up.

"I…am sorry turtles. It seems that somehow Shredder's second-in-command has found her way to you before I could," Leatherhead said, turning to leave after not being able to fight. He had no intention of trusting the information to the turtles no matter how pressing it was. He couldn't risk her forewarning the foot clan or the kraang about their plans, or letting them know the whereabouts of the power cell.

"Wait dude," Mikey said getting in front of Leatherhead and holding his hands up in front of him. "She's not with the foot anymore. It's a long story but she died, then came back, and now she's a good guy…err girl..whatever you know what I mean. So whatever you have to tell us, you can tell her too," Mikey said, hoping that Leatherhead would agree to stay.

The alligator hesitated. He didn't trust Karai at all, but he did trust the turtles in particular this one in orange that stood before him. From the first time he'd met them, Michelangelo had fought bravely and spoke nicely to him and his friends. Leatherhead immediately liked him, and hoped that they would become friends if circumstances permitted. Slowly he relaxed his shoulders a bit before resigning to do what he had come so far to do. There was nothing left now than to simply say it and not waste time.

"The kraang are going to invade our world," Leatherhead said, extending his hand so that everyone could see the glowing power cell. "And this is the only thing stopping them."


	12. The Master and The Pupil

**A/N: It's very subtle, but I did a time jump. It's now been a little more than two months since April has been training. Foot recruitment is already underway and being led by Xever**

* * *

"What's taking so long?" Leo asked Raph for the thousandth time. Raphael tried very hard not to roll his eyes.

"He'll be here Leo, just hold on to your shell alright?" Raph said, not masking the annoyance in his voice. A few minutes passed as all five of them peered over the edge of the roof of an abandoned roller rink.

"He's not gonna freak out is he Raph? You did manage to tell him there were three more of us right? We can't afford for this guy to lose his mind just because..." Leo was starting to gear up for a lecture and Raph lost what little patience he had.

"Would you just cool it Fearless?! Casey'll be here in a little bit just like he said he would. So why don't you just…" Raph's voice was getting louder when they all heard someone call his name. Raph turned his head in the direction of the sound, then grinned at Leo.

"See, told ya. Be right back," he said as he bounded across the roof to the other side of the building. A moment later he and Casey were coming up the fire escape together. The brothers all stood and so did Karai. Casey had a big grin on his face as he awaited Raph to introduce them.

"Alright, the one in blue there is our great and fearless leader. That's numb nuts,"

"Hey!"

"And that's brain-boy over there," Raph finished. Mikey was somewhat insulted but still smiling, happy to have met someone new. Donnie was annoyed, and Leo glared at Raph before properly re-introducing them.

"Hello, my name is Leonardo, this right here is Mikey, and the one in the purple is Donatello," Leo said extending his large hand. "Pleased to meet you."

"Yeah, cool to meet you guys too, but who is the lovely lady over here?" Casey said smiling and sauntering over to Karai, who gave him a once over and smiled mischievously. Casey mistook the look for seduction. He tried to take her hand gentlemanly and kiss the back of it which she seemed to allow. In a flash Casey was howling in pain, as Karai had pinned his arm behind him, a kunai at his throat, and her lips just centimeters from Casey's. If he puckered he would have kissed her.

"My name is Karai," she purred which made Casey blush in the midst of the pain in his elbow. "You can call me Karai. Keep your hands off me if you want to keep them attached," she said silkily as she released him. He rubbed his elbow, confused but somewhat turned on.

"Well hot damn girl, I don't know whether to kick your ass or ask you out," he said grinning at her despite her assault on his person. Karai was still smiling wickedly with a flip of her ponytail, and one hand on her hip. Leo smirked at her feisty attitude, loving every minute of it.

"Well now that we got that outta the way, whadya got for us Case?" Raph asked as they all gathered around to hear what Casey had to say.

"Alright, I kept my ear to the streets like you asked and I found out that somebody called Mr. X is running some two bit underground fighting rings. Most of them seem to be in the Bronx, but I hear he's holding a couple of fights in Brooklyn, Manhattan, and Queens," Casey told them. Leonardo processed this information carefully.

"You see any of those alien droids around?" Raph asked. Casey shook his head.

"That's a no go Raph, although people have been talking about a whole lot of homeless people going missing over the last couple months. Maybe that's got somethin' to do with them, and maybe not," Casey said shrugging his shoulders high.

"I think they've got other plans," Donnie chimed in. "Leatherhead told us they are testing the mutagen, and they wanna basically make our world Dimension X. I don't think they're concerned about this recruitment process. The kraang might be laying low because they can't come through the portal. Since they don't have the power cell, I think they're bidding their time until they recover that one, or make another. I think once they get their hands on a power cell, we're going to see some fireworks and not the 4th of July variety."

Everyone nodded their general agreement with Donnie's assessment of the situation. Leo walked over to the edge of the building. He sighed before he spoke.

"I think we've been going about things the wrong way. We've been thinking of the kraang and the foot clan as two sides to the same coin, when in fact they are separate from one another. Basically we have to fight enemies on two fronts, not one as we thought. Neither side seem particularly trustworthy, and because of that fact they will be planning a double-cross, one trying to gain the upper hand on the other. The foot are a lot of things, but stupid isn't one of them. I can't imagine that they actually _want_ an alien race to invade the Earth." Leo said finally turning to see everyone thinking about that.

"Leonardo, I think we should go ahead with our original plan," Karai said, positioning herself next to him.

"You mean with April? She's not ready Karai, I can't send her into the belly of the beast like that. We don't know what to expect now, and I just think we should scrap that idea altogether," he said, knowing he was letting his emotions talk instead of clear reasoning.

"The way I see it, we're in the same boat now as we ever were. She's ready to do it," Karai said. Mikey was listening closely to both of them try to decide April's fate.

"I don't think either of you are in as much control of that decision as you think," he said addressing both of them.

"I'm the leader Mikey, I get to make that call," Leo said but he sensed Mikey wasn't going to let it be.

"You guys don't know angel cakes like I do. She's real determined to see this thing through. She says even though she doesn't always get along with Karai, she's learned a lot from her. April doesn't wanna be helpless anymore, and if you take this off the table, she won't forgive either of you," Mikey said, making Karai and Leo think harder about what he said. Neither Leo nor Karai had ever stopped to consider that April had her own reasons for volunteering for something she knew was dangerous.

"As much as I hate to say it Leo, Karai and Mikey are correct. April is as ready as she's going to be, and if anyone can find out the details of what we're up against she can. She's a smart woman and she can handle it," Donnie said.

"Alright, alright, you guys don't have to beat me up, we'll go ahead with it," Leo conceded. "So who's going with her to this fight, and when is it by the way? We also need to figure out who this Mr. X is," Leo stated turning to Karai.

"Mr. X is Xever. That's his little alias when he thinks he's being sneaky and mysterious," all the turtles looked shocked.

"What's the problem?" Karai asked, looking at all of them.

"Nothing except we thought old Fishface was dead dudette," Mikey told. Karai snorted a little bit, trying to stifle a laugh. "What's the matter with you?"

"Fishface? Does he know you guys call him that?" Karai asked, finding it more and more difficult to reign in the laugh. The name was way too appropriate.

"Oh he totally knows we call him that," Mikey said joining her in a laugh. "He actually tried to cut my tongue out because of it. It didn't work though," he said smiling brightly. Karai shook her head and got herself together. She'd have to taunt him about that the next time she saw him, although he wouldn't be laughing if it all went the way she was planning.

"Since we're fighting on two fronts as you say, allow me to handle the foot. They are my responsibility after all. I will shadow April every step of the way, making sure she isn't caught and that she actually makes it past the initial trials," Karai offered. Leo agreed.

"I think that's best considering the circumstances. Raph, you Casey and Donnie keep tabs on the kraang. We're gonna start splitting up patrols again. From here on out we need to rely on stealth more than ever. No crazy fighting and no blowing our covers, Mikey," Leo said as Raph and Donnie giggled quietly. Mikey shot Leo a look.

"How many times do I gotta tell you I know how to ninja?" Mikey complained. Leo smiled and rolled his eyes playfully, patting Mikey on the shell.

"I'm not saying you don't Mikey, all I'm saying is you can't make a kung-fu movie every time you fight that's all," Leo said, almost baby talking Mikey making him blush and squirm away from Leo 'soothing' him. Leo chuckled at his brother. He never doubted Mikey's ability for a moment, but it was always fun to make him squirm about it.

"Mikey, you come with me on patrols. We're gonna try to keep up communication with your little friend Leatherhead from now on. They might make a move and if they do, I wanna try to coordinate with them on it if possible. I think if we all work together we may be able to blow everybody's plans before they get a chance to set it in motion," Leo stated, ending the little soiree on the rooftop.

Everyone went their separate ways, Karai heading to April's house. She had a few things she wanted to discuss before she sent her to the point of no return.

* * *

Rockwell perched himself on a streetlight watching Saki Tower. He outfitted Pigeon Pete with a cam that gave a visual from above. Slash and Leatherhead were waiting near one of the rear entrances to the tower. It was late and the only ones in the lobby of the tower were the security guards. They would be easy to take out, but they needed to be careful not to make too much of a racket.

"Are you ready Slash and Leatherhead?" Rockwell asked them telepathically. Slash rolled his eyes from where he was.

"You're the one that can read minds, you tell me," he retorted. Rockwell said no more, not wanting to waste time on the usual arguments they had.

Pete landed on a streetlight next to Rockwell.

"All's clear," Pete managed to say between his head and eyes darting every which way.

"Good," Rockwell said as he quickly swung down and landed in the shadow of the door. When no one came in or out, he unlocked the revolving door and made quick work of the security guards. He accessed the security systems for the entire building. He specifically looked for security systems on the sub-levels that he knew existed, and it took him a few minutes to find and disable them but he finally did.

Rockwell went to the side doors where Slash and Leatherhead were waiting and let them in. They left Pete on surveillance to warn them if any foot soldiers or kraang droids were coming their way.

"This way you two, but we have to keep quiet. I have no doubt that the portal we seek is in the bowels of this building," Rockwell said as they took the staircase down as far as it went, then down a corridor to a hidden bay of elevators to go the rest of the way down.

So far everything was quiet. Rockwell used a key card from one of the security guards to gain access to the elevators. From the buttons, it seemed the building had at least four sub-basements. They punched the lowest one, deciding to work their way up from the bottom. Upon reaching the bottom the doors opened. They were expecting a welcoming party of kraang droids but instead Tiger Claw was waiting for them.

"We figured you or those turtles would be stupid enough to show up here, and you didn't disappoint," Tiger Claw tsk'd at them. Behind him gathered the crowd of kraang droids they expected to see. "Too bad you won't be leaving," Tiger Claw said as he blocked them from leaving the elevators.

* * *

April had a tough day at the office. She made it in and was about to go to bed when she heard a familiar tapping on her window. Without looking twice she opened it, surprised to find that it was Karai instead of one of the turtles.

"H-hi there, Karai. What brings you here?" April said trying not to stammer. The moment was even more awkward than Karai had imagined. She unconsciously crossed her arms and hugged herself.

"Well, I just came here to get you prepared for what you're going to be doing," Karai said, catching herself and uncrossing her arms. She didn't need to show any weakness.

"Yeah, I'm infiltrating the foot clan and trying to find out what they're up to. I know what I'll be doing," April said, wondering if this was the only reason Karai had shown up unexpectedly.

"Why don't we go into the living room and talk?" April offered as she motioned Karai out of her bedroom. Karai nodded and left the room, taking a seat on the couch and trying not to relax into the cushions. That was proving rather difficult.

"So, you didn't come over here to tell me about something we've been planning already. What's going on Karai?" April asked frankly. Her tone was more formal than even she expected it to be.

"Well, we found out from Casey, Raph's friend apparently, that there are going to be some underground fights being held for recruitment. I came here to mentally prepare you. These are real fights with real dangerous people who will try to hurt you for this opportunity. They have nothing to lose and you have everything to lose April. I just need to know that you truly understand what's at stake." Karai said. April was astonished at the level of concern she could hear in the kunoich's voice.

April's palms suddenly became sweaty and she rubbed them back and forth on her lap. Many times she thought about the espionage part, but not so much about what she would have to endure to get in the door. The thought honestly scared her, but she was resolute. She had to do this for her family, both past and present. The foot had taken her father, her world, from her. It tried to take her friends and the love of her life away from her. She could not, would not be a helpless bystander anymore. April clenched her open hands into fists and pounded her lap.

"Karai, I do have everything to lose. This is why I'm so determined. You've trained me for a little more than two months now, and I don't think we have much time before whatever happens, happens," she said, still hitting her thigh for emphasis. Karai raised a brow. It always took her by surprise when April got this way. April stood and looked out the window. It was her turn to hug herself.

"I will lose everything I hold dear if I don't make this sacrifice," she said with a sigh thinking most prominently of Michelangelo. The love she felt at the thought of him at that moment threatened to bowl her right over. "I took leave of absence already from work. If everything goes right then it'll be there. If the world goes to shit, I won't have to worry about it anyway," she said, snorting out a humorless chuckle.

Karai stood and reached into a small messenger type bag she was carrying. She pulled out some simple clothing for April to wear, and two other items.

"April, I have some things for you that you may need," she said, placing the items on the coffee table. April turned to see what she was talking about.

"It's just some simple gear that I can't fit anymore, but there's nothing wrong with it. We look just about the same size although you may be just a tad taller," Karai said, placing the last of the gear down and stepping back so that April could inspect it all. It was Karai's old ninja gear. No body armor, but it was a black top and bottom that seemed like it stretched and may have been form-fitting. There were also two small things in cases. April looked at Karai, shocked that she would give her anything other than a hard time in training.

"Karai, I don't know what to say. What is all this? Why are you giving me these things? I don't understand," April said, confused by it all. Karai folded her hands behind her back.

"You have earned everything but the two small items. April, you impressed me throughout training. Over the past couple of months you've shown more strength and resilience than I believed you were capable of. In reality, I saw you as weak, but I see that I was wrong," Karai said. Her tone was quiet and oddly a bit formal. April figured she was unaccustomed to shows of affection or expressing feelings without anger or sarcasm.

"These are the items I was awarded when I first achieved the right to be called a kunoich. Open the two items there," Karai instructed. April did as she was told. Upon opening the small cases, she saw they were two small fans. Each was intricately painted with scenery. Cherry blossom trees that seemed to be blowing in the wind, and the impression of mountains behind them. They were absolutely breathtaking. When she opened them, April found that they were no ordinary fans, but made of metal, probably steel and the edges of them were sharp as razors. When she looked back up at Karai, she was stunned to find her eyes glistening as she gazed upon the weapons.

"My father gave me those as a gift, one of very few that he ever gave me and they are, were, my prized possessions. When he gave me these, he told me that I had not yet truly earned them, but that I would one day when I became stronger. So, now I give them to you. You have not yet earned the right to call them your own weapons, but I believe you will one day," Karai said, looking up at April before she continued.

"I don't know if you want to become a full blown ninja, but if you do I will be most honored to be your sensei. I will help you earn your tessen," Karai said, standing straight up her eyes no longer shiny. She was readying herself for April's rejection.

"I-I don't know what to say Karai," April said, fingering the tessen and already not wanting to be without them. She'd claimed them in her mind at the sight of them. "I have never thought about being a ninja. I mean, I saw the guys and thought I could never do the things they did. It all seemed so incredible, you know?" Karai nodded.

"I guess, I have been doing better than I thought I would. After what I'm going to do, I don't know what will happen after that, but I know I won't be same April as before. Everything that's happened to me I believe it's happened to prepare me for these moments," suddenly April looked up at Karai, her face taking on that look of resolve. She didn't know all the etiquettes of the situation, so she just did what she'd seen the turtles doing when they addressed Splinter formally. April knelt down on one knee before Karai, almost as if she were being knighted. Karai let out a small gasp, fully expecting to be told to get the hell out of April's house.

"I would be honored to become a kun-kuno-kunoich if you will teach me…sensei Karai," April said and couldn't help a tear falling onto the carpet below her. She felt simultaneously a weight lifted as if she were made for this moment, and the burden of the bond this created between her and her one time enemy. It was a lot to take in.

Karai helped her up by her shoulders, a rare smile on her lips. Her eyes were shining again but no tears fell. April wished she would smile more often.

"It won't be easy, but you will earn your weapons April. That I promise you," she said, patting April's shoulder more out of awkwardness than anything. The moment probably called for a hug, but sensei or not, Karai just couldn't break the mold she was raised in. She felt a little sadness at not being able to just let go like other people did, like the turtles could. A shoulder pat would have to do for now.

"Now, there's some things we need to do first," Karai said, reaching in her bag again this time pulling out two boxes of hair dye and a pair of scissors. April's eyes widened as she absently stroked her hair. Karai told her she'd need a disguise, but this seemed a bit drastic. Karai saw her stroke her hair and smiled.

"Yes cream puff, say goodbye to those luscious locks," Karai said, snipping the air with the sharp scissors. "Time for a lesson in one of the skills of a ninja, henso-jutsu."


	13. Street Fighter

The sound of fighting and the jeers and cheers of the crowd were masked by the sounds of constant traffic on the street above. April hunched her shoulders against the chill coming off the river. She knew that Karai was somewhere lurking, but honestly she would have preferred Mikey to watch her back.

With her face obscured by the shadow of her hoodie, April eased her way smoothly into the crowd. She hoped that she wouldn't be noticed. Karai had done a great job of changing her look. Her hair had been dyed from the brunette-like color to a very bright red, and cut into a rather flattering pixie. April had no idea Karai could do hair, but she told her that she'd learned how to do it from disguising herself and other ninja girls when they wanted to sneak out. Karai had even suggested a bit of makeup, but April felt that was going too far. She felt a more natural look would help her not stand out more than her hair was already going to do.

April shouldered her way to the front, accustomed to being aggressive when she was trying to get info for a story. What she saw sickened her. This was why she made it a point not to follow along with the turtles when they fought. The brutality always bothered her. She tried to hide a wince as one of the two men in the middle of the crowd cracked the head of the other with an elbow strike. The man's knees buckled and his eyes rolled to the back of his head, as the other man raised his arms in triumph. Some in the crowd cheered, while others seemed angry apparently having lost money in a bet. The unconscious man was dragged out of the way, as two more took their place.

Karai watched from the shadows as the various fights happened. She looked around for Xever, but she didn't see him. She figured he may have been overseeing another underground fight. She would keep a lookout, but focused her attention on the fight circle as it was time for the women to fight each other. They weren't as strong as the men but they were no less brutal. A shorter woman was fighting a taller one and was winning. She seemed skilled like an MMA fighter, but Karai was confident in April's ability thus far. April wasn't practicing ninjutsu yet, but Karai had trained her in hand-to-hand, takedown techniques, and defense. April was almost a prodigy, picking up on the concepts and techniques much faster than Karai had anticipated. Shredder would have valued her greatly as a pupil.

The two women ended the fight with the smaller one submitting the bigger one by breaking her arm in a vicious arm bar. April took a deep breath. They were calling for two more combatants and no one seemed to be stepping up. When she saw that everyone was looking at everyone else, she stepping into the middle of the crowd. Her heart was hammering in her chest. She hadn't had a fight since she was in elementary school taking up for her friend against Melanie Jennings.

"Oh we got somebody here ready to fight!" the 'master of ceremonies' shouted to the crowd. They erupted in a cheer, hooting and hollering and cat calling April. She took her hood off to reveal her bright red hair.

"Ooh! We got us a bonafied red head people! Who's gonna challenge red? C'mon we ain't got all night, somebody better step up or we end this for the night!" The man shouted.

Eventually a woman did step up who looked almost as nervous as April felt. The woman looked young, younger than April and she had to suppress the empathy she was starting to feel. This young girl looked to be no more than about sixteen or seventeen years old, and possibly homeless if her clothing was any indication. The man running the fights started taking money for bets, and when he was done he signaled them to start fighting by bringing his hand down between the two women in a karate chop motion.

The young girl sprang into action like a Tasmanian devil. It shouldn't have, but it caught April completely off guard as the girl delivered punch after punch. The first two caught April in the face, then they bounced off her forearms when April raised them to at least protect herself. April began to backpedal under the fierce assault. Those in the crowd who had bet on April were beginning to jeer at her and call names.

'Throw a punch you stupid bitch!' someone yelled.

'Stupid ass cunt can't even fight!' April heard someone else yell.

Karai warned her about all this. She'd told her that in a fight you had to focus only on your opponents, whether it was one or more than one. Karai told her that if she couldn't focus she would be beaten even by a weaker, lesser skilled enemy. That was happening right now. April backed up too much, running into someone in the crowd who immediately pushed her into the wild young girl. April fell forward, catching herself at the last minute. She blocked a wild roundhouse kick the girl tried to deliver, but failed to block the sloppy punch that came afterwards and that's when everything snapped into place.

Looking out through the space between her now battered arms, April could see the girl as clear as day.

 _Focus_

April lowered her arms just a bit, getting into a better defensive stance. The girl came in wild and fierce and sloppily. Time slowed down as April narrowed her focus just as Karai taught her. It was as if the girl were moving through water. She swung at April with a left hook that April dodged easily and countered by grabbing the punching arm, and swinging the girl down to the ground using her own momentum against her. However, contrary to what she was taught April lacked killer instinct and failed to take advantage of the girl's vulnerability. The girl countered by sweeping April's legs out from under her, causing her to fall onto her back. The girl wasted no time, trying to get on top of April, but was kicked in the stomach for her efforts. Jumping to her feet as quickly as she could, April would not let the opportunity to end the fight pass her again. The girl had gotten to her feet as well, ready to come at April again, but like before she was moving through water. April's fist connected with the young girl's jaw, dazing her but not knocking her out.

April started moving her feet like a boxer, dancing around the girl and starting to pick her apart. She was thankful now that Karai allowed her to not only punch the bag, but punch her body. She told her it was so that April could know what it felt like for her knuckles to connect with bone and muscle. April's knuckles still hurt with the impact, but she ignored the discomfort.

 _Breathe_

She took another deep breath and protected her head. The young girl was tiring herself out. It was time to end this. April took a few more weak blows to her arms, then caught the last wild punch. April twisted the girl's arm in the crook of her elbow, holding it there. With this leverage, April connected another punch to the girl's nose, and her eyes rolled until April could see the whites of them.

April barely registered the cheers from the ragtag crowd around her. Her adrenaline was pumping almost as much as it was when she was falling through the sky from atop Sacks Tower. She was still holding the arm of the limp girl, afraid in some abstract way to let her drop to the filthy ground. Instead, April released the arm and gently laid the girl down, careful not to bump her head too much. Poor thing probably had a bad concussion now. She knew Karai would frown upon the soft touch, but April couldn't help it.

She finally looked around, coming out of what felt like a hazy dream. This must be something like the feeling Mikey tried to describe to her when he talked about fighting. He liked to call it his 'turtle rage', but it was more like what Asha described as the red curtain closing over a warrior's mind. You operated on the instinct of fighting rather than rational, conscious thought. April wasn't quite sure she liked the feeling, especially since she couldn't pinpoint the exact moment she'd entered into it. She knew that coming down from it was like stepping back into her own mind and body. She didn't want to think about where exactly she was when she was 'out of it' like that.

Without a word she trudged over to the 'winner's circle' and stood there trying to catch her breath, and handle her adrenaline crash. Karai stepped into the middle of the crowd next, and awaited an opponent. She had also done a makeover for herself. She dyed her hair blond, and cut it in a similar pixie style. Her makeup was heavy particularly around the eyes where she created exaggerated wings. Her lipstick was black and she wore a studded choker. She looked goth-like, and April thought it was oddly befitting.

"We ain't got no more women to fight, so you can step your little fine ass back," the ring leader said and turned his back.

"I'll fight any man here, including you," she said. She was speaking in her normal tone, but she may as well have been shouting for the attention she commanded. The crowd silenced as much as it could. The ring leader turned to face her, lips curled in an incredulous smirk.

"Whatever you say. I don't wanna hear no cryin' when you get your ass whooped," he said. He didn't even have to ask for an opponent, as they were practically falling over each other to challenge her.

"Lemme at this bitch. Move!" One very large man made his way to stand toe-to-toe with Karai, who seemed positively diminutive next to him. The muscular man didn't even wait for the bets to finish or for the signal to be given before he took a swing right at Karai's head. Karai dodged it without even moving her feet, or taking her hands out of her cargo pants pockets. Angered and surprised, he took another wide swing, this time being tripped as Karai switched her stance and stuck out the tip of her boot just enough. He sprawled to the ground face first in a puddle of who knew what. Furious, he leaped to his feet and charged at her. Still having not taken her hands out of her pockets, Karai side-stepped him and with a sharp heel kick that no one saw, the man's knee popped audibly as the joint bent backwards.

He started to froth at the mouth, not able to scream or make any intelligible sounds. His hands grasped at his knee as he fell back, finally letting loose a sickening howl of pain as his eyes registered the position of his knee.

Karai also walked to the winner's circle in silence. She did not even look at or acknowledge April. She was just another potential recruit. A little while after, the angry crowd dispersed many of them losing all of their money for having bet against Karai. When they all finally left, the ring leader turned to all of them.

"You made it through the first test, but don't get too happy. Your next trial is in a week in the Bronx, midnight, Crotona Park. You'll know where to go when you get there. You need to meet Mr. X. If you get past his trial, he'll welcome you to the Foot. If not, you won't have to worry about shit else, now get the hell out of here," he said and left just as quickly as the crowd had moments before.

April caught the bus to a small diner to meet Karai there as they planned. She took a seat in a booth, wringing her hands in an effort to stop them from shaking and soothe her sore knuckles. She ordered a coffee and continued to wait. After around ten minutes or so Karai walked through the door and sat across from her. April cracked a smile but noticed Karai wasn't in that kind of mood at all.

"What were you thinking out there?" Karai shot at her suddenly. It wiped the smile clean off April's face before it had a chance to really settle.

"What are you talking about? I won didn't I?" April shot back angrily. She couldn't believe Karai was gonna do this right now.

"You can't lose focus like that anymore. That girl was wild and sloppy, you could have taken her out like that," Karai said, snapping her fingers inches from April's face. "Instead you let her back you up," Karai took a breath and closed her eyes for a second. When she opened them she looked at April, a wounded look on her face. Karai shook her head.

"Listen, I just don't want you to get hurt out there. The next time you might not be so lucky. Next week is big. You'll have to fight again, but these people will be a little more skilled so you'll have to be on your toes. We have just this one week to prepare you. Once we get past Xever, we won't be able to come back from wherever he sends us. April, we will officially be foot soldiers after that," Karai said, finally sitting back in the seat and ordering a slice of blueberry pie. The waitress came back with it quickly, and Karai took a forkful, moaning softly at the taste. She studied April's face again. She wasn't saying anything, trying to be unaffected. Karai sighed softly. She was no good at stuff like this.

"Listen I'm sorry April. I just want to keep you safe. You don't know the amount of threats I've received from Mikey because of you," she said, April brightened a little. "You did well out there. I'm proud of you." April beamed, she'd never received such outright praise from her sensei. They finished their coffee and pie and headed back to the turtle's lair.

* * *

Mikey paced the floor of the dojo, a ball of nervous energy. If anything happened to April, he was gonna kill Karai, absolutely kill her. Suddenly he heard them coming, and he raced out to meet them.

"Angel cakes! How are you?! Are you hurt?! Let me see," Mikey was all over April trying to see if she was hurt or if anything was wrong with her. She welcomed the attention but she was too tired to deal with his nonstop energy.

"I'm okay Mikey, really," April said stopping to look into Mikey's worried eyes. She was tired, but she could make time to ease his fears. She took his face between her hands and kissed his lips. Mikey almost melted into it, wrapping his arms around her and carrying her to the couch. When the kiss was over, his face was once again relaxed. He took a look at her knuckles, gently caressing them.

"Hey Donniiiieee!" Mikey bellowed, causing Donnie to run out of the lab thinking something was wrong.

"What?! What's going on?!" He said, alarmed until he noticed everyone else was chilling. He made a mad face and stared at Mikey.

"Why would you call my name like that?" Donnie asked, annoyed at Mikey. Mikey waved his hand dismissively.

"Do we still have any of that stuff we rub on our bruises and stuff?" He asked. Donnie looked at April's hands, put two and two together and nodded.

"Sure, yeah we got some. Be right back," he said as he went to get it. Mikey grabbed April's hands and led her to the lab where he could see to them.

Leo looked after them as they left the room, then beckoned Karai into his room with him. She sighed, not in the mood for being dressed down for doing something they all agreed to. Their precious April had been returned to them as unharmed as she was ever going to be, so Karai couldn't think of a single reason why Leo would need to summon her to his room. She was taken quite by surprise when, as soon as he closed the door he was on her, pressing her up against the wall and leaning in very close. He hovered for a moment before speaking, a smile breaking out on his face.

"You look hot with your new hairdo and makeup," Leo said, pressing in closer to her if that were even possible. One of his large fingers began to trace her jaw and neckline. This was completely unexpected.

"I know I look hot, what else is new?" She retorted, lifting her chin in mock defiance and grabbing him around his neck.

"Thank you for training April and bringing her back in one piece," he breathed into her neck, planting very light pecks there.

"Go ahead and say it, you couldn't have done it without me," she said as she was smiling and lifting her head back, giving him more access to her throat. He stopped and gave her a mischievous grin.

"I think we could've managed it without you," he chuckled as she swatted his plastron. "I'm glad you did anyway though. You've been a great help. I know it's been hard, but…" her lips stopped him.

"Shut up with the lecture and kiss me turtle," she said, planting her lips on his again. He was happy to do exactly that.

* * *

Leatherhead was aching all over and he couldn't see straight anymore. Once again he and his friends had been captured, but this time he thought he would die here either trying to escape, or die from torture. He was in a brightly lit room, almost like a hospital room. If Rockwell were there, he would have told Leatherhead that he was in an operating theater. It hurt to look around, as the lights were too bright. He didn't see the three people watching him from the viewing platform just above.

Setsuko, Kazuko, and Eric Sacks were watching the giant alligator struggle against his restraints. Kraang droids were laying him on a table and attempting to extract information from him about the power cell. His head and all his limbs were strapped tightly to the table. One of the droids grabbed a glass case and opened it. With tongs, it pulled a strange looking worm-like bug from the case and placed it on the struggling Leatherhead's snout. It squirmed its way into his mouth and disappeared. After a few moments they released him from his bonds. Slowly Leatherhead arose from the table and stood, his eyes completely covered by his nictitating membrane.

"Is the one known as Leatherhead listening to kraang?" They asked impatiently awaiting the response with their weapons drawn just in case.

"Yes," Leatherhead growled out. He didn't want to answer them. Within a small part of his mind, he knew he had been mind-controlled. He tried to fight it with all the will power he possessed, which was a considerable amount, but it was not enough. His body betrayed him.

"Where is the power cell that you stole from kraang, which belongs to kraang?" They demanded.

 _No…I… can't…_

"It is with the turtles," he answered against his own will. The guilt of the betrayal he was committing almost destroyed what little mind he had left.

"Leatherhead will lead kraang to the ones known as the turtles, and give to kraang the power cell that was stolen from the kraang," one of them commanded.

His feet began to move of their own accord. He tried to stop them, screamed for his body to obey, but it wouldn't. He just kept moving in the direction of the turtle's lair. Leatherhead was leading his enemies right to his friend's doorstep, and there was nothing he could do to stop it.


	14. Intrusion

It was like looking at the world from between the bars of a tiny prison. Leatherhead could see his feet moving through the flotsam and jetsam of the sewers. He could hear the footfalls of the kraang droids behind him and Tiger Claw beside him. Unfortunately, he had memorized the way to the turtle's lair from just about anywhere in the city. It was taking them a while to make it through the twists and turns of the tunnels, but they would be there before long.

Leatherhead was hollow inside. Every moment he was caught in the prison of his own mind was pure hell. He fought against this, but to no avail. Whatever they had forced inside of him was too powerful to overcome. As he walked underneath the streets he could still see the light of the moon. That small part of him dared to hope the turtles were not home. He knew they patrolled the streets at night. Maybe they wouldn't be there so he wouldn't have to hurt them, and they wouldn't have to witness what he was being forced to do. Maybe the lair would be empty tonight.

* * *

Leatherhead would find that he was only partially correct. The turtles were gone, but Asha, April, Max, and Splinter were there. April decided with Karai, that it would be better to be in the lair 24/7 before they had to fight again. Asha and Max were there just to be near the gang, and for Asha to be aware of what the group's plans were. Max was hanging around trying to get to know Raphael, and succeeding a little. He started teaching her how to play the drums on the set he had hidden in his room. It was a perfect way for them to be close.

Asha had gone into Donnie's lab. He asked her to keep more vigilant eyes on the tunnels around the lair. He wanted to be sure of their continued safety there. When she first looked at the monitors she saw Leatherhead. That was strange because everyone had agreed that it would be too dangerous for him to visit the lair, in case he were ever followed. What she saw raised her hackles tremendously, as he had not so much been followed as he was being accompanied by Tiger Claw of all mutants, and a very large squad of translucent kraang droids. The turtles were gone and would be until close to dawn, not to mention they were on split patrols now so they could be anywhere in the city.

Asha immediately sent out a mass alert to them on the t-phones.

 **Lair under attack. Kraang, Leatherhead, Tiger Claw!**

Asha rushed out of the lab to warn the others.

"Alright, I don't need you all to panic, but we're about to be under attack in less than five minutes," she said, trying to remain calm while she went to get Splinter. April and Maxine both looked at each other with shocked expressions. They got up from their seats, ready to defend the lair but not knowing what to do. Asha came back with Splinter who immediately retrieved his weapon and Asha's staff.

"April, both you and Maxine need to get out of here. Asha and I will deal with this intrusion," Splinter directed. Turning to Asha he spoke again.

"Have you warned my sons?" He asked. Asha nodded in the affirmative. Splinter closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Normally he would have wanted them to stay out of harm's way, but from Asha's description he understood that just the couple of them could not ward off this attack.

Asha shifted and readied her weapon. She took a look at her t-phone GPS and saw that all the brothers were too far away to come in a hurry. She had an idea.

"Splinter, I'm sorry but I think we need a change of plans," she said almost apologetically for going against his orders. He listened attentively, open to any suggestions she may have.

"April, you need to take the Shell Raiser and pick them up. They're too scattered and far away to make it here. Let them know you're coming," she said. Without a word April made her way to the garage, and a few seconds later Asha could hear the engine come to life and the tires screech.

"Maxine, I'm sorry to have to ask this of you, but I need the wolf," she said looking at Maxine who promptly stripped her clothing and shifted. She could not speak while she was a werewolf, but Asha could see that Maxine had her back no matter what.

* * *

Donnie was with Raphael and Casey. All night they had tracked a small group of kraang droids back to Saki Tower. Donnie scolded himself for not putting that together sooner. Of course it would be Saki Tower. After blowing up the Brooklyn facility, it only made sense to move everything there. Without any available rooftops to hide on, he and Raph were relegated to the shadows of the gangways and any alleys they ran into. It really put their stealth skills to the test.

They were creeping closer to the skyscraper, across the street from it in fact, when their phones went off. Donnie read the message:

 **Lair under attack. Kraang, Leatherhead, Tiger Claw!**

Donnie's eyes grew behind his glasses. Looking over at Raph he could see his brother having a similar reaction.

"Why would Leatherhead be attacking the lair, along with the kraang and Tiger Claw no less?" Donnie asked more to himself than his brother. Raph shrugged and grunted angrily. Suddenly they heard Casey's footsteps as he ran back to them after reading the message on his own phone.

"What're we gonna do?!" He asked, panting a little and waiting on what the turtles would say.

"There's only one thing we can do. We gotta go back," Raph said, as they all found the nearest manhole and descended into the sewers.

* * *

Leo, Mikey, and Karai were already below ground beating it back to the lair. It would be a long haul as they were almost halfway across the city, but they had no choice. Mikey was carrying Karai bridal style as he rode his skateboard. She didn't have the stamina to run at nearly a full sprint that whole distance.

Leonardo kept thinking of master Splinter. He thought about how his sensei had been suffering over the last six months or so with worsening arthritis. He was getting on in age, slower, not as agile, not as strong. Leo had seen the destructive force of Leatherhead, had witnessed himself the cunning killer instinct of Tiger Claw, and even though the droids were easily defeated they could be a force in large number. He felt his phone vibrate again and slowed down to read what it said:

 **It's April. Picking you up in the Shell Raiser, stay put!**

How could he stay put? He had to keep moving but then getting a lift would be faster and he would make it there with strength to fight. He jogged to a stop.

"Mikey did you see the message?" Leo asked. Mikey shook his head.

"Couldn't get to my phone bro," he said, putting Karai down the moment he came to a stop.

"April says she's on her way to pick us up, and that we should stay put," Leo said, pacing back and forth with his hands on his hips. Karai reached out to touch his arm.

"Leo, we will make it there in time to help your family. I promise we will," she said trying to comfort him any way she could. He grasped her hand and held it firmly.

"I know you mean well, but you can't promise that Karai. We'll just have to have patience.

* * *

April zoomed through the streets. She was still picking up the signal and decided to get Leo and his group which were further away, and then swing back around to get Donnie and the rest of them. She didn't notice the gathering group of footbots following silently along the rooftops, running just as fast as she was driving. If she wasn't so shaken up, she maybe would have noticed some odd movement from her side mirrors, but she was upset. She had to get the guys and get back, quick, fast, and in a hurry. She made a reckless turn as cars honked furiously at her. She thanked the stars above there were no police around to pull her over.

* * *

Leatherhead came barreling through the entrance doing his famous rolling technique. Asha and Splinter deftly moved out of its vicious path, landing on either side of him. His large head swung from one side to another as if trying to decide who to rip apart first.

"Leatherhead, what's going on? Why're you doing this?!" Asha screamed. Leatherhead turned towards her, but did not seem to register what she said.

"It's no use lion, he's under the control of the kraang," Tiger Claw almost purred. Asha's eyes narrowed dangerously.

"Leo spared your life due to his merciful nature. I have no such nature. You will die here tonight tiger," Asha growled. She was about to attack when simultaneously Leatherhead whipped his tail knocking her back, and Max jumped Tiger Claw biting and clawing frantically at him.

Splinter jumped onto the alligator's back hitting at the back of his head with the pommel of the sword. It was obvious that Splinter heard what Tiger Claw said and wished not to fatally wound the mutant, but although Asha also did not want to kill Leatherhead she feared it might not be avoidable. She certainly wasn't going to let him do the killing.

Asha jumped to Splinter's aid knowing that as great a fighter as the old rat was, he was no match for the strength of this mutant. Meanwhile Tiger Claw for all his fighting techniques was having a difficult time with Max. Her claws were as sharp and durable as his machete, and even though he was cutting her, her rapid healing made the injuries virtually of non-effect. Like Hollywood werewolf lore, Max only had a weakness for pure silver. Only a beheading could kill her in absence of it. It took every bit of strength he possessed not to be brought to his knees every time he blocked one of her blows. It was only due to kraang droid interference that Tiger Claw received any respite.

The droids began to shoot their laser guns. Maxine turned her attention towards them, relieved to see they were not flesh and blood, and feeling better about laying into them with all her might and ferocity. She had put down at least ten on her own before Tiger Claw attacked her from behind. Asha saw this, but couldn't do anything about it. She and Splinter were busy with Leatherhead, and not making any progress. They were only dodging and trying not to be mauled to death or ripped apart by either teeth or claw. Getting out of the way of that mouth was the biggest concern, but that didn't mean his other attacks could go unchecked. His tail was the second biggest issue, as he used it with expertise and great timing.

Splinter abandoned the non-lethal tactic quickly, and began to strike Leatherhead in earnest, but it made no difference. The sharp sword cut him, but not deeply enough to truly hurt him. It seemed only to make him angrier. Leatherhead ran backwards towards a wall in order to crush Splinter. Splinter jumped off of his back in time to avoid the wall, but Leatherhead whipped his tail and caught Splinter midair, sending him crashing to a far wall. Asha stared in horror, as Splinter did not move. She wasn't even sure he could withstand such a blow. Her horror intensified when she saw the mutant go towards Splinter, perhaps to make sure he was dead.

"LEATHERHEAD!" She screamed to him. That got his attention as he turned menacingly in her direction.

"I know you're not in control, but you leave me NO CHOICE!" Asha yelled with tears running down her furry face. Splinter couldn't be dead. He couldn't be.

"I'll kill you if I have to!" With that she ran to attack, her staff a spinning blur.

 _Please kill me_ , he thought to himself. He had no more control, and what's worse he feared he may have killed one of the few beings to ever show him kindness and mercy. Leatherhead didn't want to live with himself anymore. He hoped Asha would put him out of his misery.


	15. Collateral Damage

Raphael didn't know where the footbots suddenly came from, but he knew he was tired of fighting them. Donnie and Casey were working just as hard at clearing them out but they just kept coming.

"They're just delaying us!" Donnie yelled over the noise of their fighting.

"I know that, but what do we do about it?" Raph asked as he crushed the heads of two bots together, and kicked a third.

"Why don't we just make a run for it to the lair?" Casey suggested. He was using his cricket bat to clear out the pesky robots.

"They're faster than us," Raph grunted out. He was getting angrier by the moment. Sensei would not be able to hold out much longer with the likes of Leatherhead and Tiger Claw together.

"Besides April says she's on her way with the Shell Raiser. It shouldn't be too long now," Donnie said as he dispatched several more of the robot ninjas. He had an idea they were coming from Saki Tower. He had to think and do it fast. There had to be some way to outsmart these things. Donnie pulled some smoke bombs he'd been working on from his pack. He didn't even know if they would produce enough smoke to cover their getaway, but he had to try it or remain in footbot hell forever.

"Raph! Grab Casey, we're getting out of here!" Donnie shouted. Raph wasted no time grabbing his friend. He didn't know exactly what Donnie had rolling around in that big brain of his, but if it was gonna get them out of there he was down with it.

Donnie had two bombs in each hand, and as soon as he saw Raph get behind him he threw them to the ground. If he were worried about not enough smoke to cover them he shouldn't have been. If anything it may have been too much, but it did what it was supposed to. All three of them disappeared underground and made a run for it through the sewers.

"Ha! It worked!" Donnie exclaimed, happy to know they worked since he gave Leo some to take with him just in case.

"Would you keep it down?!" Raph hissed, shushing Donnie as they made their getaway. They stopped to hide in the shadows and listen to see if they had been found out, but after a few minutes they heard nothing. Raph had Casey get on his back as they ran full tilt towards the lair. If April caught up then fine, but they weren't gonna wait around.

* * *

Finally April pulled up to where the GPS told her. She got out cautiously looking around for them, when a shuriken whistled past her head, just missing her ear. Hurriedly she jumped back into the van and dialed Leo who answered immediately.

"Where are you April?" He asked.

"Right on top of you I think, but hurry up. There's some footbots out here and they just tried to attack me. She heard nothing more, but suddenly she saw Leo leap across the van slicing through three bots as he landed. Karai and Mikey cleared their own way to the van and jumped inside. April had to honk for Leo.

"C'mon! We don't have time, just get your ass in the van!" They all shouted. Backing up and defending as he made his way to the Shell Raiser, Mikey literally pulled him inside by the shell.

"Hit it!" They cried as April slammed on the gas and peeled out as fast as she could. The robots followed but it couldn't be helped.

"How many droids were there April?" Leo asked desperately trying to get a better understanding of the situation unfolding in their home.

"I-I don't know I never saw them. Asha was the one watching the monitors and she sent me out before the attack," she said as she hurdled through traffic, weaving and running red lights.

"Okay, just get there as fast as you can, in one piece though," he said as they rushed through the busy streets of New York.

* * *

Maxine didn't know how much longer she could hold out. The lasers weren't killing her but they hurt like hell, and this bastard tiger wasn't helping matters at all. No matter how many droids she destroyed, more always seemed to take their place. She didn't know if they were multiplying or it had been that many to begin with, but it was beyond ridiculous. She only had time to glance over at Asha, and her friend didn't seem like she was doing a whole lot better.

Asha was doing everything she could to keep Leatherhead away from Splinter, but she was paying a heavy toll. She felt like she was cut and bleeding from every possible place on her body. Asha moved between Splinter and Leatherhead. She swung her staff getting ready for the inevitable charge. He came at full speed whipping his tail, but she leaped out of the way of it only to be caught in his hand. He lifted her level with his face, but dropped her when she jabbed the end of her weapon four or five times right on his forehead with all her strength. He stumbled back touching the spot, then let loose a frightening roar and came charging back.

Leatherhead's resilience was uncanny. Those blows were powerful enough to kill coming from her, but he was barely dazed. Briefly she looked to Splinter who still lay prone and unmoving. A grief grew in her stomach and slithered towards her heart. Once again she was losing another father-like figure, another sensei and even though she had never formally taken him as such, he welcomed her into his family with full trust and a quickly developing fondness and love. That grief coiled itself in her chest and almost in a type of emotional metallurgy, it hardened itself into familiar anger and vengeance. If this were the last thing she ever did she would die protecting Splinter and Max, but she was going to try to take Leatherhead with her when she went.

All thoughts of sympathy were gone. He couldn't control himself, but that was now a personal problem. She didn't know if he understood what he was doing or not, but it no longer mattered. Asha understood in some way what it must have felt like as she recalled being under the influence of that rampage drug. She was a prisoner in her mind, seeing herself committing horrible deeds and not being able to stop it. Leatherhead may be going through the same, but she couldn't let her empathy on the matter stop her from doing what had become painfully obvious that she must do.

As if on cue he charged her, his huge bulk rolling towards her like some kind of living avalanche. Asha ran a few steps up the wall behind her and used it as a springboard into a backflip and land on his back. Again with all her force she slammed the end of her staff against his forehead right between his eyes. It was enough to make him sway on his feet but still didn't knock him out. He reached up to grab her and she had to be nimble to get away from the grasping claws. Asha thought briefly of trying to direct him towards Tiger Claw and get rid of him, but that would put Max right in the line of fire. In any case, Leatherhead was not allowing himself to be maneuvered in that fashion. Asha slid to the middle of his back where it was hard to reach. When he tried to roll she jumped off quickly and resumed her post over Splinter's body.

She would repeat this twice more. On the last attempt she landed again, hitting him with all her force. This time he did more than sway on his feet, he actually fell to the floor taking her with him. She narrowly avoided being crushed, but could not avoid his teeth as he turned his head and caught her leg in his powerful jaws. Leatherhead was dazed heavily, and that small merciful fact lead to Asha not being crushed to death as he did not use all his biting force. He was slowly slipping into unconsciousness. When his head finally came to a rest on the floor, his jaws loosened and Asha squirmed away from them. She didn't see the worm-like creature emerge from his nostrils, slither a short distance, and then spasm in death from not having a host.

Crawling using just her forearms, she was desperately trying to make it to Splinter. She would have to shield him with her body from any attack. She was almost to him when she felt a clawed foot on her back, then rough hands turn her over. Tiger Claw stood above her with a very self-satisfied grin on his face. He rested one of his feet on her chest, and leaned his weight onto her causing her to gasp for breath. He was saying something, but Asha blocked him out. From the corner of her eyes she saw Max starting to be overcome by the droids. She was still on her feet, but the shots from their weapons were taking a toll on her. Asha looked down as she felt wetness spread underneath her. She looked to the bite on her leg and realized in horror that her thigh was bleeding profusely. Actually, that was inaccurate. The blood was pumping from her severed artery like a geyser in time with the beat of her heart.

Asha was fading fast. Every sound blurred together and pounded into her aching head. She tasted blood in her mouth, the old familiar coppery taste. It offered no solace in these moments. Her last surge of feeling came when she involuntarily shifted, not having the strength to sustain her lion form. This was a shifters death. Her uncle told her that if shifters died in animal form, they always returned to being a human without exception. Her last thoughts were of her uncle, of the pain in Donnie's heart when he saw the condition of his father, of the pain Maxine would be in once again because of her. Sorrow filled her even as Tiger Claw's visage faded and swam away from her. Asha closed her eyes.

Maxine's eyes bulged in horror. All she saw, all she needed to see was Asha crawl away from that alligator and Tiger Claw rush over to finish her off. She saw Asha shift and her knees nearly buckled underneath her. With a ferocity she knew deep down she was capable of but never released, Maxine ripped through a few more droids. That tiger was dead, he just had yet to realize. With a terrifying howl like the voices of many wolves Maxine gave the only voice she could to her anger and grief. Tiger Claw turned, his confidence faltering at the sight of an almost eight foot tall black wolf staring him down, teeth bared, claws extended, and murder in its eyes.

Maxine had never killed a person before. She was the kind of girl that released mice if she caught them, and didn't want to kill spiders if she could avoid it, but this walking piece of fecal matter had killed her friend. Even if he hadn't delivered the death blow, he had to see the blood all around her, yet had the audacity to be proud of himself as Asha lay dying. He could not be allowed to live. Tiger Claw pulled his pistols, not wanting to be in close range to the business end of those claws. Maxine charged him, being shot several times as she did so but she didn't even feel it. She absorbed the bullets but they weren't even silver and would be rejected by her healing body in a short while. The hail of bullets ceased as Tiger Claw hurried to reload, and then she felt it. Kraang droids must have shot her all at once, because the burning pain in her back as she felt the barrage of lasers hit her was enough to bring her to her knees.

* * *

The van didn't have time to come to a complete stop before Leo, Karai, Mikey, and April were out of it. Raph and the others were on the move too fast, and would make it back faster than they could be picked up. When they entered the lair the carnage they witnessed was appalling. There were so many kraang droids both active and down that it was unbelievable that Asha, Splinter and Max weren't overcome instantly. Leo quickly assessed that Leatherhead was down, but so was Splinter, a werewolf that had to be Max, and Asha as well.

"Sensei!" Leo screamed as he tore his way to Tiger Claw. With no words wasted he shot past Max who was groggily getting up again, and attacked the tiger. This time Tiger Claw was at a distinct disadvantage fighting a very fresh and very infuriated Leonardo.

"I told you…" Leo said as he swiped upwards with his twin katanas at the tiger's head. Tiger Claw flipped out of the way but did not dodge a spinning back kick to the sternum.

"…if I ever…" a double slash down was blocked narrowly by Tiger Claw's machete. He was forced to one knee under the strength of Leo's strikes.

"...saw you again…" this time Leo delivered a knee to the chin of the mutant sending him flying backwards in a clumsy barrel roll. Tiger Claw tried desperately to get to his feet. Suddenly he heard the name 'Karai' and he snapped to attention. It couldn't be.

"Karai, I need your help!" April shouted over her shoulder. Karai had helped Max to her feet, and was looking for a way to join Leo to defeat Tiger Claw when she heard April's desperation. Mikey was trying to see about master Splinter, the look on his face not a good sign.

"Here I come!" Karai shouted back taking out kraang droids effortlessly as she cleared a path to April.

In the general chaos it was hard to distinguish what was what, so April was surprised to suddenly see Donnie, Raph, and Casey in the tunnel fighting droids themselves.

"No! Sensei! Asha!" Mikey yelled as his eyes filled with rage and zeroed in on Tiger Claw. He had a stupid shocked look on his face that Mikey just about knocked off with a blow to his head with his nunchucks.

Tiger Claw did his best to get to his feet, but he may as well have stayed down for what it was worth. The force and fury of the two turtles was too much for him to handle, not to mention on top of the astonishment of realizing Karai still lived. He fought sloppily, his defenses a cruel joke compared to what he was capable of. It would prove his ultimate undoing. Mikey kicked the backs of his knees out, forcing him to land face first on the floor. The tiger rose up on his knees only to find Leo's swords scissoring at his neck.

"I told you if you hurt my family again what I would do, didn't I?" Leo said, feeling his nictitating membranes slide over his eyes for the first time since he was a little turtle. Seeing Leo, Mikey's eyes did the same making them all white and very terrible to behold.

"I will not beg you turtle!" Tiger Claw spat, both figuratively and literally.

"It wouldn't have saved you anyway," Leo said coldly, and with a smooth gesture and no hesitation Leo brought his swords together and watched Tiger Claw's head casually roll to the side. His third eyelid slid back out of the way as worry know etched over Leo's face. He rushed over to where Splinter lay. Maxine was hovering over Asha, naked and crying and cradling her friend's head in her lap.

Raph, Donnie, Casey, Karai, and April made quick work of the rest of the droids, stomping on any kraang that tried to run away. Everyone crowded around Splinter and Asha. Donnie stared in horror at both of them. He silently thanked Leo and Mikey for carrying sensei into the lab so that he wouldn't have to make a callous choice of who to attend to first.

"Leo check dad's pulse first. Check his wrists, his throat, even his upper thigh if you have to, but we have to find his pulse," Donnie said starting to bark orders. He needed to speak the steps aloud, unless he lose his mind at the scene in front of him. He pushed all negative thoughts away, instead choosing to focus on the things he could physically do something about.

"On it Donnie," Leo replied already disappearing into the makeshift triage area.

"Maxine," he said as softly as he could manage. "I need to see to her. I'm gonna need you to move back some okay?" He asked softly, all the while motioning to Raph for him to physically remove Maxine. With a curt nod, Raph grabbed Maxine by the shoulders. Donnie was glad. Comforting someone, even though it wasn't Raph's thing, gave him something to do with his hands so that he wouldn't go ballistic.

Raph barely registered that Maxine was completely nude and apparently trying to meld into his plastron. She was crying uncontrollably and it was all he could do to rub her hair and hold her rather close. He tried to soothe her, doing his best Leonardo impersonation from when they were children and Leo would comfort them after bad dreams.

"Shh, it's alright. Old Thundacat'll pull through this. She's strong Max, you know that better than we do," he said softly into her hair. Max just sobbed into his chest, her shoulders heaving violently.

He wanted to rush in to see about his father, but with Donnie, Mikey, and Leo already in there he knew he'd just be in the way. Plus seeing them like that would only make him flip the hell out. Right now someone needed to be doing just what he was doing. Maxine needed to be comforted because of Asha. They were childhood friends, and if Asha died…. Raph tried not to think about that. How the hell could this have happened? He tried mightily to keep the rage at bay for now, but soon it would be hell to pay the captain and he would make sure every dime would be paid in full.

A groan echoed through the now quiet lair as Leatherhead was regaining consciousness. In a flash Karai was over there kicking his side with her sword drawn and a snarl on her lips.

"Get up! What is the meaning of this?!" She bellowed, kicking him in his side relentlessly. He groaned and stirred but didn't, or perhaps couldn't answer her.

Karai had balls the size of lady liberty, Raph had to give her that. He walked Max over to the couch and wrapped a shirt he found, maybe hers, around her in an attempt at modesty. She continued to cry in between hitching breaths, and Raph simply sat with her.

Inside the lab Mikey's eyes were wet, but it was a mix of joy and sorrow. They had found Splinter's pulse although weak, but Asha was pale and still not moving.

"Let me just set the drip on this IV," Donnie said moving around the gurney as Leo watched him intently. Donnie used his pen light to check Splinter eyes. His pupils contracted and dilated accordingly.

"I've got some refined mutagen that I stole from the labs the night we escaped. Karai said it healed without crazy side effects, so I'm going to eventually give it to dad. His leg is broken and he more than likely has head trauma. He got a number done on him," Donnie said as he continued to move around at an increasingly frantic pace. Leo put a hard hand on his shoulder, stopping him and pointing Donnie's body to face Asha.

"She needs you, we got dad under control Donnie," he said as he gently pushed his brother to where Asha lay as if she were sleeping. Donnie had wrapped her thigh, staunching the blood flow for what it was worth, but not daring to check her pulse. He sighed heavily, almost breaking down twice in the few steps it took to go from where his father lay to where she was.

Before touching her, he looked intently at her to see if he could discern the rise and fall of her chest and couldn't see it. Mikey stepped to the other side of Asha's bed and held her hand in his. He looked up at Donnie, a small smile appearing on his saddened face.

"I'm here bro. Whatever we find out, you know she loved you," Mikey said and Donnie felt altogether encouraged and broken by those words.

He gently grabbed her hand and felt up her wrist for a pulse. He kept his fingers there, hoping, wishing to feel something, _anything_. He felt nothing and a little piece of him died. Just to say that he had tried everything, he reached up to her throat and felt for her jugular. He waited. Waited. Then a faint glimmer of hope shone in his eyes. He pressed down more firmly, and waited. Waited. There it was, like a small flicker of flame that could be put out at any moment, Asha was holding on to life.


	16. Countdown

Leatherhead was sitting up still rubbing his forehead. Karai, Raph and Leo stood before him weapons out but not necessarily brandished.

"I asked you what the meaning of this was." Karai said. Leonardo stepped forward.

"You need to start explaining Leatherhead," he warned.

"Why didn't she kill me?" Leatherhead asked absently. The note of sadness in his voice unmistakable.

"It can still be arranged, mutant" Karai said slipping back into her old habits of interrogation and intimidation. Leo gave her a side glance as did Raph.

"I couldn't…control myself. The kraang put something in my head," he looked around as if he were searching for it, and actually found the dead parasite. Leatherhead skittered away from it, almost cringing to himself. None of them had ever recalled him appearing afraid or 'skittering' away from anything. His fearlessness was his boldest trait and it showed them how afraid the mutant was, and how traumatic his experience had been.

Leonardo spotted what Leatherhead moved away from and went to get a closer look.

"Eww, what the hell is it?" He asked no one in particular.

"It is a parasite from their dimension," Leatherhead answered. "It attaches to your brain and releases a chemical that controls your mind. I understand now from experience, that it cannot be overcome." He sat dejected with his head in his hands. His face was not made for expressions, but Leo thought he could clearly see the pain and anguish in Leatherhead's eyes.

"So what I wanna know is how'd they get it into you? Explain that to me, then we can see if you need sympathy or each of my sai in your fuckin' eyeballs," Raph growled stepping closer to Leatherhead and twirling his weapons.

"Raphael…" Leo started but Raph cut him off.

"Raphael nothin' Leo. He better start spilling the beans on why Master Splinter and my sister are laid up in that room," Raph said pointing in the general direction of the lab. "He either spills the beans, or I spill his traitorous guts all over the floor."

Leo started to get on Raph's case, but Leatherhead raised his hand gesturing him that it was okay.

"He has a right to be angry, and so do you Leonardo. My friends and I thought that we would strike a blow to the kraang by destroying the portal. We were able to breach the tower…"

"Wait you mean Saki tower? That's where the portal is?" Karai asked, confused. Leatherhead saw what she was thinking.

"The second portal is there, yes. The original portal is still underground in the old facility. As you may know, the portals cannot be moved," he told her.

"So they're gonna activate both portals?!" Leo asked worried at the implications.

"No, they only have one power cell and it can only power one portal at a time," Leatherhead said, looking at Leo with sorrowful eyes.

"But the power cell is- oh no. That's why they attacked and made you lead them," Leo put it together. Leatherhead gave him one solemn nod.

"Now they got what they need they could come through at any time. Leo what're we gonna do?" Raph asked, the gravity of it all sinking in for him.

"I don't know Raph," Leo said wearily. "I just don't know."

* * *

Setsuko was enraged but she had to keep it quiet. She never intended for the kraang to get their hands on that power cell so quickly. The stupid mutant alligator just had to deliver himself up didn't he? She couldn't even stall them like she planned on doing. They had the clever little idea to mind control him, and it was fool proof. To make matters worse the foot clan was still in a vulnerable state. The recruitment wasn't nearly complete, and they would need all the strength they could gather to get rid of the kraang at the critical moment.

She stormed through the hall to Eric Sacks office. A small group of kraang droids returned with that dreaded power cell, and now who knows when they will come through that ridiculous portal. They were secretive and vague and untrustworthy and Setsuko couldn't wait to get rid of them. She needed a solution and perhaps Eric would have a useful idea or two, or she might just take her frustrations out on him.

Without announcing herself she burst through his office doors and stood in front of his desk, hovering. He looked up over the frame of his reading glasses from whatever paperwork he was doing. His pen was poised over his work as he waited for her to speak the nonsense he knew she was going to spew.

"Eric Sacks,"

"Setsuko Kichida,"

Her eyes narrowed at his sarcasm.

"Eric, how do you think your footbots would fair against kraang droids?" She asked. He figured this was coming. He sat back in his seat and sighed, removing his spectacles and rubbing his eyes.

"To be honest, and maybe a little biased, the footbots are overall better. They have more flexibility, superior programmed fighting skills, and a sophisticated A.I. While it is true that the droids are powered by the kraang themselves, the droids are inferior in fighting prowess and lack movement." He said observing to see her reaction.

"Does that answer your question? May I get back to my work now?" He asked and without giving her a chance to respond, he went back to paying attention to his paperwork. Suddenly, a shuriken embedded itself between his index and second finger.

"You don't ever as long as you plan to breath dismiss me. Do you understand me or do I need to elucidate my point?" She glared at him unblinking. For a moment he dared to stare back, but then dropped his eyes.

"I understand you," he said tightly. She smiled.

"Good. Now, have those robots of yours on standby. I'll be calling upon them soon," she turned on her heels to leave the room. Eric sat staring after her. Setsuko was even more irrational than Shredder, even though he loved his adoptive father after a fashion. She had killed all naysayers to her rule, but Eric thought he could trudge up a few still. He needed some way to get rid of her and her minion Kazuko.

* * *

It had now been a whole day and Asha still wasn't awake. She was breathing, but that was about it. Her vital signs were stable but her blood pressure remained slightly lower than normal. Donnie and Maxine kept constant vigil by Asha's side. At first they tried coming in by turns, but then just sat there together since they couldn't stay away for long. The two hardly spoke, Maxine was contemplative and Donnie kept his head buried in his laptop. Maxine told him before that Asha could not be taken to a normal hospital. She never expounded on why that was so, but it worried Donatello to no end. Maxine was sitting here with him now, holding Asha's hand and staring off into the distance. He had to get some clarity.

"I still don't understand why she can't be taken to a hospital. She needs a blood transfusion. Please make me understand why this can't be simple?" He almost pleaded to her, breaking the silence and startling her out of her thoughts. Max sighed, getting her thoughts together.

"We are unique, Asha even more than other types of shifters. We have our own communities, and doctors also," she said looking into Donnie's worried eyes. He looked like he'd been up the entire time and crying also. His eyes were puffy underneath and red-rimmed.

"Her body is not completely like a normal girl. I know she needs blood. There's an off chance that type O blood would work, but it's a 50/50 chance. She could be saved or she could become violently ill and die. Unfortunately the only relative she had here is gone," she said. She'd let go of Asha's hand while she was talking, but she reached for it again patting it gently.

Donnie exhaled loudly and looked at his girlfriend. Her breathing was deep, but she was still pale. He feared that the longer she didn't have medical attention the more at risk she was. Then again if they discovered that she was not completely human, that would lead to much more serious situations. He was about to slump his shoulders again until he had an idea.

"What if I could synthesize her blood?" He asked himself. Donnie jumped up and started rummaging through some old looking equipment in what seemed to be his own personal storage area. He went over to the desk carrying a centrifuge, a few empty glass vials, some packaged tubing, and needles.

"What are you doing?" Maxine asked, afraid of the answer. She hadn't known him long, and everyone said he was a genius but she didn't want him experimenting with Asha.

"I want to see if there's any way I can synthesize her blood, reproduce it and then administer it to her as a transfusion. There has to be a way I can do something, instead of sitting around waiting on her to die," Donnie said, frantically arranging items on his desk.

"Is that even possible? I mean I'm no expert, but wouldn't you need to get some blood from her? She can't afford for you to extract any blood," Maxine got up and timidly grabbed hold of Donnie's arm and turned him towards her. His eyes were wet with as yet unshed tears.

"I know you wanna help her, and I would want you to do anything possible, but I think the best thing is to let her body heal. She lost so much blood, it would have killed anybody but she survived," Max said as Donnie took her by surprise, leaning down and resting his head on her shoulder. She couldn't be sure but she thought he might have been crying a little. She stroked the back of his head and his shell gently.

"I don't think you understand," he said pulling away and adjusting his glasses. He leaned over the desk looking at all the things he'd just gathered with disdain. An angry frown distorted his features as he swept it all to the floor with one arm, causing it to clang and clatter loudly on the floor. Max jumped back a bit.

"All of this is useless if I can't help her! If I can't save her!" Donnie shouted at himself more than at Max. She stood back and waited patiently for him to finish. She understood it completely.

"All I had to do was give Master Splinter some refined mutagen, and he's in the dojo right now with Leo. Something he hasn't done in almost two years. But her, I can't…I can't even…I can't even…." He said as he plopped into his chair and put his face in his hands.

Mikey came and stood at the door wanting to check on things because of all the noise. When he saw his brother hunched over, he went over to him hopping up on the desk to sit. He knew Donnie hated that, and on cue and without looking up Donnie spoke. "Mikey, get your shell off my desk, you know I hate that," he said while taking a hand and pushing Mikey to no avail.

"No can do Big 'D', not until you tell me what's wrong," Mikey knew exactly what was wrong, but talking about things always made Donnie think more and feel less. Donnie looked up at his brother with an irritated expression.

"You know full well what's wrong with me," he said pointing at Asha. Mikey looked over casually and then back at his brother with a dopey grin that was usually only reserved either for April, or when he was gonna pull a dumb prank. He looked at all the stuff on the floor. Needles and tubing, it looked like Donnie was gonna give her a shot or something.

"What's all that stuff for?" Mikey asked pointing towards the mess Donnie made. Donnie glanced disgustedly at it, then folded his arms on the desk and rested his chin on them.

"You wouldn't understand it Mikey, just leave me alone," he said morosely.

"Try me. What were you gonna do with it?" Mikey asked again. Donnie sighed loudly.

"I was gonna try to synthesize, create, replacement blood for her but it won't work. Nothing will work, it's all just a big failure. I'm failing her Mikey," Donnie said with one of the saddest looks Mikey had ever seen on his brother's face.

"You're not failing anybody bro. You're the one who thought to get the other kind of mutagen right in the middle of us getting out of that place. None of us thought that far ahead, but you did and you saved Splinter with it. He's in the dojo right now doing some of the most awesome shit I have ever seen."

"You're right Mikey, and I'm happier than I can express right now that Splinter is okay, but I can't give her mutagen because it won't help her. She's just lying there…"

"Alive. She's there and she's alive Donnie." Mikey shut him up with that. Donnie could only stare at his little brother, his mind working to offer a logical rebuttal but he had nothing. Mikey was correct.

While they were talking, Raph and Leo were listening to the exchange.

"We all are worried about her Donnie, but we just have to have some patience," Leo said, extending his hand to his younger brother to comfort him. Leo hadn't seen Donnie this sad since they thought Splinter was going to die.

"I know it doesn't seem so, but it's extremely hopeful that she didn't immediately pass away," Max said as she went back to Asha's bedside. "I'm worried too, but the fact is she's healing. It's going to take her a while, but she'll make it through this," Max said rubbing Asha's hand. "She has to," and her voice was small when she spoke.

"If Max can have hope then so can we," Leo said, still rubbing Donnie's shoulder. His brother nodded.

"On another note, Donnie, we need the schematics of Saki Tower. You think you can get that for us by tonight's patrol? I think we need to pay them a visit over there, welcome them to the neighborhood so to speak," Leo asked his brother. Donnie turned to him with an incredulous look.

"What do you mean 'can I get that for you'? That's like asking me if I can add like terms within a quadratic polynomial. I'll have them within a couple of hours," Donnie said turning towards his laptop with a small shrug of a shoulder as if to tell Leo he had insulted his hacking abilities. Leo didn't know what a quadratic polynomial was, but he assumed Donnie found them easy to deal with judging by the look he just got.

Karai appeared in the doorway taking in the mood. It was too somber for her taste, the dreariness and feeling of impending doom reminding her too much of the atmosphere Shredder liked to create. She thought she had the perfect way to break that mood.

"Leonardo, your father told me to tell you and Raphael to get back in the dojo, and stop running from the ass kicking you're getting," she said smiling broadly.

"I did not use such language Ms. Karai," Splinter yelled from the dojo. Raphael groaned, Leo resigned himself to return but with downcast eyes, and Mikey laughed at the both of them.

"Michelangelo, I wish you to also return to the dojo to train," Splinter called out, hearing his youngest laughing. Mikey stopped laughing and stood up straight, chastened even from a distance.

"Donatello, you come as well," Splinter called again. He was feeling stronger than he had in a while, thankful that his joints weren't aching anymore.

Donnie spun around in his chair, almost making a complete circle, eyes huge. "But, sensei I have to get the schematics for-"

"Donatello!"

"Hai sensei!" Donnie called back, his voice high-pitched and slightly cracking.

Karai stifled a laugh as she watched the turtles pitifully make their way to face their sensei.

* * *

Deep within the bowels of Saki tower two kraang droids stood guard outside of the massive room that housed the portal. Inside the room was complete darkness and quiet. The platform of the enormous portal was shrouded in shadow. The four arms above the platform faced outwards, causing the entire structure to look as if it were an old long forgotten derelict.

Suddenly, a small ink flashing light could be seen in the darkness. The control panel mounted on a separate platform to the side of the portal slowly came to life. The muffled whir of machinery could be heard faintly as the portal's arms moved into position, almost coming to a point just above the main staging area. Above it all a large monitor also lit up. The characters on the screen were clearly alien, but any human would know what it was. The alien numbers were counting down.


	17. Assault on Saki Tower

Finally, the end of the week had come. It was time to make a move, and the turtles decided that it would be them instead of their enemies. Karai had taken April in order to complete their own mission. The rest of them would lead an assault on the Foot base of operation. Maxine was left with Asha. Carefully they had moved Asha to her own apartment considering that the lair's location was known. It was Donnie's idea to move her. In case the lair came under attack again, he would not risk her being killed. He also had some of his most important equipment moved there. He said it was to keep it safe in case of another attack, but his brothers knew that he wanted and needed to be near Asha, watching over her at all times.

The turtles along with Splinter and Leatherhead waited and watched. Saki tower security had been beefed up since Rockwell and his mutant friends broke into it. They could see footbots patrolling the outer perimeter under cover of shadow. Normal looking security guards patrolled in plain sight.

Leatherhead was the only one waiting underground. He never expected the rat to forgive him, but he had done so almost as soon as he regained consciousness. He knew he had broken trust with the others, even if they spoke to the contrary, but Splinter offered him the chance he needed to regain it. Leatherhead knew what he was to do. He was to lead an underground assault, drawing the security on the main floors to the floors below. The turtles and their master would take care of the rest. They had also vowed to help him get his friends, but the main issue was to attack rather than to defend. They needed to destroy or disable the portal. He told them about everything he'd seen in hopes that it would help them to navigate their way in the lower depths. This would not be easy. There were a whole host of kraang droids, and Leatherhead imagined there would be even more enemies than before. Since they got the power cell they may have also brought in reinforcements. The fact that it had been a week and still no invasion didn't put the alligator at ease. In fact it put him on edge instead. Whatever the delay was, he was sure it would not be in favor of Earth.

Splinter stood on a roof of a midrise building across the street from the tower. His sons were grouped by two on either side of the building waiting on his move. He needed to wait until he saw the guards moving off, and then he would strike. It was up to him to signal his sons by setting off a few smoke bombs that Donatello had created. When he thought of Donnie he also thought of Asha, and his heart felt saddened. She had risked her very life protecting him from what Leatherhead and Asha's friend told him. When she awoke he would thank her properly, but for now his mind needed to be set on his task. It might be a long while, so Splinter decided to meditate.

Almost a half an hour passed before he felt it. There was a low rumble coming from below ground. His keen ears picked up the sound that was otherwise drowned out by the humdrum of the busy city. His whiskers twitched and his eyes snapped open. He saw many guards look around as if confused and then move further inside the building. It was time. Like a shadow he scaled down the side of the building completely unseen. In the confusion the remaining guards neglected to lock the front doors and Splinter came rushing in. They barely had time to register that they were indeed under attack.

Splinter unsheathed his katana. With one hand he tossed several shuriken at a guard that was just about to raise his gun to fire. The man dropped the gun and held his bleeding arm. Splinter landed just in front of him, causing the man to stumble back in surprise. With a low growl Splinter raised his sword. The move was almost casual, but the man's arm dropped to the shiny marble floor with a dull thump. He fell with it shaking uncontrollably and holding his stump now, his eyes wild with pain. Splinter moved through the remaining five guards in similar fashion. He wasn't killing them, but they would be handicapped for the rest of their lives. When he was finished he set off the smoke bombs.

Leonardo kept a watchful eye on the front doors, as did the rest of his brothers. He decided to have Donnie with him. He looked over to his younger brother. Donnie sat perched over the edge of the scaffolding on the side of the building they were on. He was intent on his wrist gadget that he equipped with some kind of scan that he said might help him interface with, and understand the alien technology. They had kept a kraang droid that Donnie dismantled in order to discover its inner workings. The scan was based on it.

"Do you have the download I sent to everybody's phone? The building schematics I mean?" Donnie suddenly asked.

"Yeah I got it. It's pretty simple to understand even for me," Leo said smiling a little.

"I figured you'd be okay as long as you didn't have to work a toaster at any point," Donnie joked, offering Leo a small smile of his own.

"This is true," Leo chuckled a little at his own disturbing history as a toaster killer.

He wondered what Raph and Mikey were doing on the other side of the tower. The signal hadn't gone off yet, so he had some time to think. Karai and April had already gone to do their own mission. Karai warned him that when they left they would not come back after joining the foot. They said their goodbyes to one another before striking out.

 _"Leonardo, may I speak with you for a moment?" Karai asked as she beckoned to him from his own bedroom door._

 _"Sure, what's up?" He answered coming to her. They walked into the room as she closed the door behind them._

 _"It was good that you waited to go to Saki tower now, instead of earlier," she said stepping close to him and placing her open palm on his plastron._

 _It was so much better between them now. While she knew he still had some misgivings about this whole foot clan infiltration business, he was trying to think the best and act accordingly. She was grateful for that. She was being completely honest, something she had never truly done. It was uncomfortable business, telling the truth when asked questions, but she wouldn't have traded it in for anything. Seeing his smiles more often, that alone was worth more to her than he would ever know._

 _"Yeah, I guess it has to work out for the better this way. I'm actually pretty excited that Splinter is coming with us. He's never come with us on missions, not as part of the plan anyway," he said as he allowed her to step into his personal space. He loved the way she casually touched him as if it didn't stoke his passion every time._

 _"What I wanted to tell you was that, after April and I become part of the foot, wherever we are sent for further training, and honestly it's really brainwashing, we can't come back until we are done. April talked to Mikey about it already, now I'm telling you," Karai said, not really looking at Leo's face. She was trailing her fingers along his chest straps back and forth, pulling them slightly causing him to step even closer to her. He grabbed both her shoulders._

 _"Mikey already told me about that Karai. I'm glad that you came to tell me yourself," he said looking down at the top of her head. She raised her eyes to meet his._

 _"Still watching me huh?" She asked. It still stung a little on both sides, but they both understood. She would be doing the same if she were him. He shrugged just a little and brought her into a full embrace. Karai hesitated for the slightest moment, then placed her arms around him as much as she could._

 _"I know you'll do the right thing."_

 _"Do you?"_

 _"Yeah, I do," he said pulling her away from him so that he could look her in the eyes. Leo leaned down and placed the gentlest of kisses on her lips. She closed her eyes and kissed him back, a single hot tear sliding down her cheek. She hated goodbyes._

He was brought out of his thoughts by the signal. Master Splinter had set off the smoke bombs. He and Donnie glanced at each other briefly before making their way down the scaffolding. It was time to do this.

* * *

As soon as Karai and April got into the public park, the sounds of fighting could be heard. Karai wrinkled her nose. She remembered when foot recruitment was a clandestine affair, not something you could hear from a block or two away.

"What's wrong?" April asked. She was seriously on pins and needles. Everything was freaking her out.

"Nothing. We shouldn't show up together. I'll go around the other side, you go on this way. During this whole thing, we don't know each other do you hear me April?" Karai asked, her tone hard as well as the look on her face.

"Yes," April said simply. Karai damn near vanished into thin air. It looked like she jumped up into a tree. April strained her eyes but could neither see nor hear her. Shaking her head she made her way towards the sound of fighting.

When she got over there she saw a large crowd with none other than Xever directing traffic in the midst of it. They walked right in on the women fighting. As April watched, that fight was over quickly. When they called for more people April wasted no time stepping up. Better to get it over with. Karai had trained her so hard in the past week, April thought she really would kill her. She was still a little scared but she would be brave, for herself and because she promised Mikey she would be.

April stepped into the middle of the crowd and awaited her opponent. This time it was a tall woman dressed like a biker chick. April thought she looked a little too old to be here, but she wouldn't underestimate another fighter again. The woman cracked her knuckles and stared April down trying to intimidate her, but it wouldn't work. If April could withstand Leo's glares and Raph's stare downs, a little standoff like this was nothing.

Xever came near them, pausing for a millisecond to give April a curious look. She stood her ground careful not to give herself away. With a wave of his fin, he signaled the fight to begin. April went into her stance trying to be ready for anything. The large woman just stood there not moving. April moved around the woman trying to figure out how and where to attack. As she came in closer the woman took a swing. April blocked and dodged. Sidestepping, April kicked at the woman's ankle connecting with it and making the biker chick stumble. The woman grabbed April's arm pulling her down with her, trying to put her in a headlock. The biker lady was strong as hell. April tried to get loose but had a hard time. The woman started punching April's side, making her scream out from the searing pain. Something wasn't right. Punches hurt but they didn't feel like this.

Biker chick had a vice grip on April's neck, but couldn't really get her into choking position. April inched her way up until she was almost face to face with Biker chick, then head-butt her with her forehead landing flush with Biker chick's nose. The woman released April immediately, and as she rose to her feet a pain shot down her side where she'd been hit. Placing a hand on the spot April noticed it felt wet, and that's when it clicked in. That woman was stabbing her. It must have been a short knife because April still couldn't see it now that she was looking for it, but that lady had one, April was sure of it.

April became extremely angry. The fact that she had never been cut before, coupled with the sense that this lady was cheating her way to a victory had April incensed. April wasted no time coming at biker chick. Still stumbling around holding her bleeding nose, the woman didn't react in time as April started kicking the woman's torso area. April was trying to get her to raise the hand with the knife, and when she finally came at April with it, she grabbed the woman's arm and twisted her wrist hard making her drop it. April quickly kicked the knife away as the woman watched, her confidence disappearing almost as fast as the knife did. April went in for the proverbial 'kill', kicking and punching the larger woman into submission. On her back, the woman raised her arms defensively and begged April not to hit her anymore. The crown erupted into cheers and Xever stopped the fight. April backed off heading to this group's winner circle, while Xever rushed the other woman out of the center of the crowd.

She tried to be discreet about checking her side. She lifted her shirt a little and felt around. It didn't seem deep and in fact she thought the bleeding had stopped for the most part. That was a big relief. As her adrenaline came down, she started to feel the pain of her wounds. She took a couple of aspirin out of her pocket that Karai instructed her to bring, and swallowed them dry. It was horrible, but it had to be done.

A couple of fights went by before Karai stepped into the 'ring', making quick work of another Asian girl. April could tell that Karai was purposely staying away from any moves that proved her expertise in ninjutsu. She was sticking to normal attacks and defense so as not to arouse any suspicion on who she might be, and how she came to know ninjutsu. Also, her style was extremely similar to Shredder's style of fighting and would have been easily recognized by the likes of Xever.

Within an hour or so the fighting was done and the new initiates stood waiting for orders. Xever glared at them all for a moment before speaking.

"It seems like a congratulations is in order for all of you. You've made it into the Foot clan as new members," he said as the people in the crowd murmured their excitement. "Soon, there will be a van here to pick you up and take you to what will be your new home. From here on out whoever you were before, whatever you were doing is to be forgotten." Just as he finished his sentence two black unmarked vans pulled right into the park. The doors opened and real foot ninjas piled out, shouting instruction in Japanese but it was clear that they wanted everyone inside the vans ASAP.

"Where're you taking us?" Someone asked as they entered the van.

"You'll see when you get there," Xever answered as he patted the side of the van indicating that everyone was inside. Karai and April were in separate vehicles. April didn't know if that was on purpose or not, but she had no choice but to go along with it. Karai sat nearest the door quietly observing her surroundings. She thought she knew where they might be headed.

* * *

The smoke almost choked Raph to death, or at least that's how he was acting.

"Dammit Donnie, how much smoke did you put in these things?" Raph gasped out between coughs. The other were also sort of gagging but not complaining about it as much.

"Hey they're called smoke bombs for a reason guys," Donnie defended.

"I am grateful that you thought to create these Donatello, but it does appear to produce quite a bit of smoke," Splinter said, wrinkling his sensitive nose and trying not to sound so critical.

"Guys, lay off him alright. We'll be in the clear around this next corner," Leo said leading the group to the nearest stairwell to the floors below.

"Hey Donnie, you think next time you can make these into stink bombs?" Mikey asked excitedly. No one could see it but Donnie smiled at the thought while the others groaned.

"Yeah I could do that Mikey. Next time I make some you can help me pick a smell," Donnie said as they were clearing the hall. The smoke was getting a little thinner as they kept moving.

"You're awesooome!" Mikey said in a sing-song voice. "By the way the perfect stink smell can be one of Raph's foot wraps. He walks like everywhere in them. I mean all through the sewers and everything with no shoes on or anyth- OW!" Mikey yelped as Raph found the back of his head even in the dense smoke.

"Or it can be one of Leo's farts after eating garlic and spinach pizza," Donnie chimed in as they rounded the corner to find an empty hall.

"Hey..." Leo protested with a chuckle. "I can't help that spinach makes me gassy."

"That's ya stink bomb right there. Just feed Leo a ton of spinach and let him clear out a room full of foot goons. We'll never have to fight again," Raph said, snorting at the thought of turning Leo's butt into a weapon. Mikey was almost doubled over in laughter.

"It-it-it'll be a weapon of ASS destruction!" He cackled until Raph swatted him again.

"Master Splinter is standing right behind you, idiot" Raph warned, making Mikey shut his mouth with a snap.

"Sorry sensei" he said as Splinter held his hand up to shush him.

"Shizukani (quiet)" he said as he placed an ear up against the elevator doors. The turtles readied their weapons.

"What is it dad?" Leo whispered to Splinter. The old rat stepped away from the elevator and motioned his sons into a defensive position.

"They are coming," he said cryptically, raising his sword and baring his sharp teeth. All at once all the elevator doors opened and a flood of kraang droids and footbots emerged, clogging the hall and surrounding the turtles and they're master.

"Oh no," Mikey said with a worried look. "There's too many of them Leo."

Leo's lips thinned and his eyes narrowed, "No Mikey, there's just enough."

Mikey smiled as he twirled his nunchucks, "Punks jump up…"

"…to get beat down," Raph finished as they leaped into action on all sides.


	18. Wake Up Call

Casey placed the last of the explosives just like Donnie asked. All during the week everybody had to help move all the turtle's belongings to a new lair. Casey found out that Donnie was a big time pyromaniac, as it was his suggestion to blow the lair in what he called a 'controlled detonation'. They all anticipated another attack there and this would be the perfect little surprise. He got out his t-phone and sent Donnie a one word text:

 **Done.**

He told Casey that when he was finished to text him just this word, and he would take care of the rest. Casey hoped that was the case because he had a bad feeling about this whole assault business, and he told them so. He was outvoted but still, he wouldn't have felt right not saying anything. For one, Saki tower was rumored to be like a fortress. For two, if they could capture and brainwash the likes of Leatherhead, then how would the turtles succeed? For three, it seemed a better plan to join in with what Karai had going on with April, whom Casey had nicknamed Red.

In fact, Casey had decided he would join Karai's little party. They told him it was all supposed to be this big hush-hush kind of thing, but he thought everything was long past that. If those nasty alien things had that thingamajig they needed, and the foot clan were helping or whatever, then all that needed to be done was bust some heads. From that standpoint he could understand what the turtles were doing, but he still thought they had gone off half-cocked right into the hornet's nest.

Casey made his way out of the sewers and looked around before starting off. Somebody ought to be paying him for the kind of information he could get his hands on. The streets had been talking ever since those foot clan fights started, and the word was the training spot was gonna be their old headquarters. Once he got topside he skated towards the old church. He would have just taken the subway, but he didn't have any money so skates it was. It wasn't _that_ far away and the night was still relatively young. He thought he could make it there in enough time to bust a few foot clan heads.

* * *

It seemed like thousands of droids and footbots in the hall, and they just kept coming in wave after wave. Donatello glanced around him trying to see the locations of his brothers and father. He could hear them, but his fighting had taken him around the corner and cut off from them. He fought his way back around to see all of them in their separate pockets fighting a horde of robots. This wasn't good. They barely had a chance standing shell-to-shell, there was no way they would have any chance if they got split up. The probabilities simply were not in their favor.

"Leo! Behind you!" Donnie yelled as a footbot came very close to chopping his brother's head off.

Leo turned in time to block the attack and destroy the footbot. He looked around for Donnie and spotted him at the end of the very long hall.

"Hold on Donnie! I'm coming!" He yelled as he sliced his way towards his brother. It was an endless sea of bots both fighting and destroyed. Finally he made it to Donnie's position.

"No! Sensei!" Mikey screamed.

Leo and Donnie turned towards the sound. Mikey's whole body was in motion as droids fell all around him. A second ago sensei was fighting between Leo and Mikey and now Leo couldn't spot him anywhere. Panic set in for all of them.

"Mikey?!" Leo shouted as he and Don fought furiously to get back to Mikey and Raph. Donnie had equipped his staff with a stunner at the end and begin shocking groups of robots and shorting them out. Leo looked around at his brother, eyes wide and questioning.

"Please don't tell me you've been able to do that the entire time?" Leo questioned, it was almost a rhetorical one…almost. Donnie simply shrugged.

"I wasn't even sure it would work…" he said in defense as they headed towards Mikey. His eyes were wide and worried.

"Idunnowhathappenedtheypushedhiminwhentheelevatordoorsopened…."he took a big gasp. "andIsawsenseifallanditriedtogettohimbut…" Leo stopped him. Raph downed a few more bots as Donnie took care of an entire group via stun. After they had pretty much cleared the hall Raph and Donnie ran back over to Mikey.

"They didn't push him Mikey, I saw what happened," Raph said. Mikey let out an audible sigh of relief.

"I don't know why he did this, but I saw sensei jump. He pried the doors open on his own and jumped down the shaft. I saw him Leo, he meant to do it," Raph said looking around to make sure no more droids were coming their way.

"Why would he do that?" Donnie asked looking over at the elevator doors.

"I don't know but we gotta get down to wherever he went. We'll take the stairs, it's the only way to check every floor and make sure we don't pass him up. Let's go!" Leo directed as they all headed towards the stairwell.

* * *

The two vans pulled up just where Karai thought they would. The old cathedral. They were all made to step out of the vehicles. Karai looked around and noticed a young man that looked suspiciously like Casey Jones blend right into the small crowd. When she looked over at April she was pleased to see that the young reporter was keeping her game face on quite well. A small bit of pride welled in Karai's chest but she suppressed it quickly. She needed to keep her focus on the tasks ahead.

They were all led through the large double doors of the cathedral. The walls and staircases that her father put into place, had been roughly bulldozed down. Now only the skeletal remains of the steps could be seen. The floorplan was now open as it once must have been when people frequented this place.

Karai looked up and could see the vaulted ceilings and ramparts were still in their places, shrouded in complete shadow above them all. Her hackles raised. Something wasn't quite right, and if she had to judge by the look on Xever's face she was correct. He was keeping it together but she knew the fish mutant well enough to know when he was uneasy.

Everyone turned their heads towards another set of double doors in the back of the church. Setsuko and Kazuko walked in followed by more than twenty or thirty human foot ninja, and at least as many footbots. Karai had to stifle a severe eye roll and the bile rising in her throat at the sight of the two. They had the audacity to be dressed similar to the Shredder. Setsuko in the all-white gear she had always favored, and Kazuko in all black.

The two women approached the crowd of wannabe foot soldiers and carefully looked over all of them. The crowd stood at attention as Setsuko addressed them.

"For many of you, this is the best thing that could have ever happened in your life. You are here because society has discarded you and deemed you worthless. You have been rejected as outcasts, with no family, and no sense of belonging or direction. Now the Foot clan will be your family. I am your mother, your father, and your master," Setsuko said pacing back and forth in front of the small crowd. They all seemed entranced by her. Karai actually rolled her eyes as this was the speech almost verbatim that her father used to give in this situation. The level of unoriginality was both astounding and pathetic.

Karai kept looking up trying to peer into the darkness. Something or someone was there. She couldn't see them but she could feel their presence.

Setsuko began to take leave as Kazuko started to herd the crowd towards a side door. Just as everyone started to move a familiar voice rang out and echoed throughout the cathedral.

"I thought I would find you here making a spectacle of yourself while you recite a rehearsed speech for the new so-called foot clan members," it was Eric Sacks standing on one of the lower balconies.

Both women's eyes snapped up at the sound of his voice. Clearly they had not expected his attendance. Setsuko stepped forward to address him.

"What are you doing here Eric? Did I not give you a task to complete?" She asked, her voice and tone deceitfully calm. Her eyes narrowed as she crept her hand near her hip.

"You did give me a task, but I decided that as of a week ago I was done taking orders from the likes of you and your little shadow over there," Eric said waving a dismissive hand in Kazuko's direction.

"You will pay for this insubordination with your life gaijin!" Setsuko shouted angrily. Eric made a 'tsk' sound and shook his head.

"I don't believe I will pay for it at all. It's a messy business killing your master and trying to take his place. Did you think that you had actually gotten rid of everyone who might object to your little rulership?" Eric asked with a raised brow.

Xever's face went from shock, to disbelief, and finally settled on anger at the revelation of this news. For some reason it simply had not occurred to him that Shredder's elite guard were the ones who had killed him. Really, how could he have thought anything else? If he were killed, wouldn't it be a scandal that his close bodyguards would live through the attack? Xever moved around the crowd positioning himself better for an attack.

"Stupid worthless gaijin! There is no one who can stand against me. The council is gone, Shredder is gone, as well as his worthless half-breed daughter, and you will be next!" Setsuko said, releasing her poisoned chains to punctuate. Kazuko readied her weapon.

The crowd of initiates began at first to slowly inch their way towards the doorway in fear. This was a fight between real ninjas, something they were both intrigued by and knew they weren't ready for. Only Karai, April, and now Casey stood their ground to watch the scene play out.

"Bravo Ms. Kichida. Your threats are duly noted but you're wrong," Eric said as the balconies and the beams above suddenly were filled with ninjas. "Meet Ichiro Tanaka and his team of ninja. If you don't know who that is, he's the son of high councilman Tanaka whom you poisoned like a coward."

One ninja stepped forward and cast a withering gaze upon Setsuko. Nothing could be seen but his eyes and he used them to great effect. He wore two katana strapped to his back, reminding Karai very much of a certain double sword wielding turtle. The crowd who were slowly inching to the doors broke out in a full on sprint to get out of there.

"You see Setsuko, you have failed to realize in your narrow-mindedness that the Foot Clan are worldwide. Shredder understood this fact and calculated accordingly. You on the other hand are just a sad mockery of him." Eric said frowning at the women below him. He gave a very quick glance at the three recruits that hadn't run, but decided not to worry about them. They would run as soon as the real fighting started.

"Come down here and face me Eric!" Setsuko shouted the fury in her voice palpable.

"No. I think I'll leave that to them, and there's plenty more where they came from. You killed a lot of people with long family history of foot clan service. I can't imagine they'll just let that go. Setsuko. Kazuko. I'll leave you to it now. Sayonara." Eric said about to leave but then turning to say one more thing. "By the way, I'm taking back my footbots. Surely you can handle this without my measly little inventions," he said as he lifted a small device and pressed a button. The footbots immediately headed towards the front doors and disappeared through them. With a smile, Eric turned away quickly fading back into the shadows.

Setsuko turned towards the leader of the ninja clan. "Ichiro is it? Come now, let me send you to your father!"

Karai, April, and Casey dived for cover wherever they could find it as a hail of arrows rained down. Setsuko's loyal foot soldiers sprang into action letting loose a barrage of arrows, but they were at a disadvantage by not having the high ground. The ninjas leaped from their places landing silently on the floor and engaged their wayward counterparts. As Karai expected, both Setsuko and Kazuko allowed the foot soldiers under their command to take the brunt of the assault.

Karai was getting to her feet when Xever appeared before her with a devilish look.

"Everyone else might be too stupid to figure it out, but your disguise is for shit, Karai," he spat. They hadn't been the best of friends while in her father's service, but Karai didn't understand why he would be angry at her. Then again it didn't matter as she had every intention of killing him and sending his head to Setsuko as a souvenir. Since they were all together it would make it that much easier.

"I don't have time for you so, I'll just make this quick," Karai spat at him.

He defended himself but she could tell he was out of practice. Karai produced her weapon and began to slash at his arms. Xever countered with his beloved butterfly knives. Their fight spilled into the main area, but no one paid any attention except April and Casey.

"Casey! We have to help her!" April screamed over the noise. Casey flipped his mask over his face and nodded.

"You sure she needs help Red?" He asked as they made their way over.

"Maybe not right now, but we don't have all night and I'm not leaving her!" April yelled. She ended up right behind Xever with Casey in tow. April delivered a kick while Casey brought his hockey stick down across his dorsal fin. Xever let out a surprised yelp as he turned to see the two additional attackers. He backed up calculating what he needed to do now that it was three on one.

"I never thought you would need backup Karai. Your little fake death must've made you weak," Xever said trying to get her off balance. Karai did not speak. Xever raised his arms again as all three of them attacked.

* * *

Maxine had basically set up camp in Asha's living room. Every few hours she would go in and check on her friend, hoping that her situation had changed for the better and each time being crestfallen when it hadn't. She had just come from Asha's room about fifteen minutes before. Max laid down to get another short round of unfulfilling fitful sleep. She fretted over her friend, but her thoughts also turned to Raphael. He was huge and strong and fierce and she got the sense that there weren't a whole lot of things that could fell him, but she worried anyway.

When they were deciding among themselves their next course of action, it was Casey who spoke against it. She didn't say anything at that time feeling that it was not her place, but she agreed with his concern. If in fact this Saki Tower place was the seat of their enemies, then it was a foolhardy thing to do. However, she didn't know that they had too many other choices. She curled up on the couch trying to get as comfortable as she could and closed her eyes.

For Asha there was nothing but darkness. In it she could hear the whine of kraang droids and the roar of the alligator she fought. Over and over she saw Splinter hit the wall and slide down. He looked dead. He _was_ dead. Her fingers twitched involuntarily and her eyes began to flutter. If anyone had been there to see it, they would have seen her heart rate spike as well as her blood pressure. Over and over again Leatherhead whipped his tail sending master Splinter flying through the air, audibly smacking the wall. He lay there not moving, maybe not breathing. Her breathing became rapid and her eyes fluttered until they snapped open.

Breathing hard she started to panic. Where was she? Where was everyone? Why was it so dark in here? She tried to look around but her eyes had not adjusted. Slowly as if it had been waiting on her to wake up, the pain in her thigh greeted her. At first it was a weak dull throb, but escalated quickly into a lively one in time with her heartbeat. She bit her bottom lip and closed her eyes again. Asha tried to concentrate on the pain like Splinter taught her to do. Soon it faded to a small nuisance that she felt only when she tried to move it.

She opened her eyes this time seeing where she was. It was her bedroom. _Okay_ , she thought. They must have brought her here, but where was everyone? She tried to sit up and was dismayed at the amount of weakness she felt in her body. It wasn't anything she was accustomed to. After a few attempts she did manage to sit up in her bed and swing her legs over the side. She groaned and wiped her palms on her lap. She noticed the IV in her arm and carefully removed it, grabbing a tissue from the nightstand and holding her arm until it stopped bleeding. Her throat was parched and she was grateful to find a glass of water on the side table. Asha took a small sip careful to allow it to hit her stomach before taking more. She was thankful it wasn't making her queasy and she wondered how long she had been out. Then suddenly the pain of loss hit her. Where was master Splinter? Was he truly dead, and why wasn't Donnie or any of the others here with her? She felt a tear slide down her face.

Asha tested her legs. She knew they would also be weak so she held on to the bed's footboard and tried to stand. As expected she was weak but hadn't been out of it long enough to have muscle atrophy. She stood still for at least five or six minutes before she moved. Holding on to the walls and the door she saw a figure laying on the couch and knew that it was Max. She felt a smile stretch her face. She wanted to go over to her and hug her and never let her go, but didn't want to wake her. If she'd been out then she knew that Max would have been her mother hen the whole time. Plus the mystery of the cool water on the table was solved.

Her stomach growled loudly startling her. She was very hungry but also had to use the bathroom urgently. She crept to the bathroom. It took her a while to get there and get back out, but moment to moment she could feel a little strength returning to her legs. After forever she made it to the kitchen and had to sit down in the chair and rest. She thought she was being quiet, but that bubble was burst when she heard Max come into the kitchen.

"Asha," Max almost whispered holding her hands over her mouth, her eyes watery. Carefully she folded Asha into an embrace. She could feel Max's tears fall on her shoulders.

"I thought…you…would never w-wake u-up," Max gasped out between her tears. Asha pulled away weakly and placed her hands on Max's shoulders.

"Max please tell me. Is Splinter?" She tried to hold back the tears until she knew the answer. "Is Splinter….?" She couldn't even bring herself to speak the words. Max shook her head vehemently.

"No, no, no Asha. He's just fine. Better than fine," and Max could see all the tension and fear leave Asha's whole body.

"I was so worried. I just kept seeing it over and over in my dreams. I'm so glad he's okay," Asha said as Max wiped both their tears and let her out of the hug.

"Well, he's all good. Donnie gave him that stuff, mutagen or whatever it's called, and he was up and practicing and everything," Max told as she started to get some food ready. She was preparing some soup for Asha.

"How long was I out? Where are they guys, out for patrol?" Asha asked. Maxine looked at her friend over her shoulder.

"You've been out for like a week almost. It's at least been like four or five days. Donnie's been an emotional wreck," Max said pouring the hot canned soup into a bowl and sliding it in front of a frowning Asha. She hated soup, especially of the canned variety.

"I freaking hate soup," she mumbled under her breath as she slammed the spoon in the bowl a little bit.

"What did you say?"

"Nothing," Asha said looking down into her bowl and obediently taking a big spoonful.

"I can't wait to see him tonight," Asha said eating her soup. She was looking down so didn't see the funny look Maxine gave, as she also sat down with a half a sub sandwich from earlier.

"They might come back kind of late. Donnie will come here though because of you, and I don't know if you noticed but he had some of his stuff moved here too," Max said trying to sound casual, and struggling with whether or not to tell Asha where they really went. Donnie warned her specifically not to tell it, but Asha knew her too well.

"Spill it mighty Max. What are they doing?" Asha asked way too perceptive for her own good. Max looked down with a guilty look on her face.

"Just patrol," she said, her voice small.

"Yeah right, and I'm supposed to be Boo-Boo the Fool right? I know Donnie or Leo told you not to say. That means they're doing something extra stupid, and they're scared I'm gonna get stupid right with them," Asha said, taking another bite. For nasty canned minestrone it was pretty good.

Maxine shrugged. She was in an impossible position. She hated lying to Asha but she understood completely why they didn't want her to know. They were scared she would push herself and try to come help them fight. She was certainly in no condition to do that by a long shot.

"Let me put your fears to rest. I'm too weak to jump up and run off like I usually do. I can't shift either. I tried in the bathroom and almost fainted from the effort. Plus whatever they're doing I'm sure they can handle it on their own. Contrary to popular opinion, I don't actually accompany them on patrols very often," Asha said, sitting back in the chair and studying her friend's reaction.

"Okay, okay. First, Splinter is with them," Max said trying to buffer the next sentence. Asha raised a brow in shock and smiled in approval.

"See? I know they're in good hands like All-State," she said happily taking the last bite of soup.

"They attacked Saki Tower," Maxine added dryly. Asha spit her soup out back into the bowl and started choking a little.

"They what?!"

"You heard me," Max said, getting worried. She knew Asha well, and weak or not if she thought going to them would help she would hobble her way over there without hesitation.

Asha sat back in her chair again suddenly very wearied. With Maxine's help she went back into the bedroom to lay down. She should have been tired of laying down, but she couldn't do anything else. After she was sure Asha wasn't going to sneak out of the window like an obnoxious teen, Max left her alone as she requested.

Asha took out her t-phone and looked at the GPS. They were all there and accounted for. They were fighting, maybe for their lives as she also noticed icons for April, Karai, and Casey on the map. They were out there and she was stuck in bed. She turned over and tried to go to sleep, but knew that it wouldn't come easily.

* * *

Down on the lowest level of the building Splinter entered the hall from the empty elevator shaft. He heard Leatherhead scream and it didn't sound like a battle cry. He didn't know what he expected to find, and he felt bad breaking the formation, but his sons were more than capable fighters and he knew that Raphael had seen what he did.

In the hall there were only two rooms at each end. Both seemed unnaturally serene for the building to be under assault. He couldn't smell any living thing from either direction so decided to simply check the rooms just in case. If he found nothing he would simply go back up and rejoin his sons. However, he didn't want to chance passing up any victims. He had heard about the kraang abducting people and figured there was at least a small chance they could be here in this building if they survived.

Silently Splinter crept towards the door nearest him and opened it, surprised to find it unlocked and seemingly unguarded. Upon entering however, overhead lights lit up one after the other as rows upon rows of kraang droids stood before him. They looked dormant, but he caught kraang aliens crawling into them apparently getting ready to launch another attack on the intruders. Perfect. He could take them out before they really got started.

Cutting the heads off the unmanned droids, Splinter flipped over them and landed in the middle of all of them. The kraang began to scramble trying to hurry and get the droids up and running, but they wouldn't all make it. Splinter looked around with a smile playing at the corners of his mouth. He felt much like his younger self. He raised his katana and hit his stance.

"Hajime!" He yelled and the fighting commenced.


	19. Oroku Karai

"Hajime!" Splinter yelled, and the fight commenced.

There had to be more than one hundred of those droids, but only about half of them were up and running. This couldn't get any better. Splinter downed several empty droids at a time, preventing the kraang from entering them and firing them up. When it came to the droids that were already going, Splinter targeted the kraang inside it rather than just the robot. It proved a faster solution as he didn't have to kill the same thing twice.

He was making excellent headway until they started shooting their lasers. Splinter smiled to himself. He was so relieved to feel the way he did. No stiffness, swelling, or pain in his joints. His cognitive abilities were at their peak. He hadn't told his sons that he was starting to forget simple things, and that he feared it might be the onset of Alzheimer's disease. All of this added up to Splinter being able to smoothly dodge the lasers they shot at him. Round after round was fired his way, but he weaved through them only occasionally using his blade to deflect the gunfire.

His movements were fluid as his katana whistled through the air. He concentrated on low and mid-level attacks, making stabbing strikes with his sword. The kraang were falling in groups to his katana, the floor becoming a mess with dead aliens. As he made his way across the large room, Splinter saw a console that he assumed might be a main power source for the droids or something similar. He fought his way to it, deflecting laser fire back at the droids destroying them in the process. Splinter wasted no time imbedding his sword through the console. Sparks and loud popping and hissing came from it as he heard the droids power down all at once.

Immediately the remaining aliens slithered out of the droids, but Splinter did not allow a single one to escape. After they were all dead, he spotted two more consoles similar in appearance to the one he had just done away with. Quickly he moved to the other ones destroying them also. He went around checking to make sure that no kraang had gotten away. When he was satisfied he sheathed his weapon and entered the empty hall once again.

* * *

The turtles had been fighting their way down the staircase. They had checked the level underneath and hadn't found their father, nor did they hear the sound of fighting. They were headed to the second sub-basement when they ran into yet another group of kraang droids albeit a smaller one on the steps. Leo was leading them through when all of a sudden the droids powered down, sending the frightened kraang scampering away. The brothers busied themselves with killing them off, but were more confused as to why they droids were no longer working.

"Donnie?" Leo asked, the question being intuitively understood.

"I don't know Leo. It seems as if some main power source may have gone down or something. It's the only reason I can think of on the fly that would explain a mass power down like this." Donnie said, using this opportunity to see if his scan worked. He ran it over a droid trying to see if he could detect a battery of some sort, but didn't find anything. It was the same as the one he had taken apart. It had no discernable source of power, no on/off switch, nothing. He was wondering how that worked and now the mystery was solved.

"That could have been Leatherhead and his crew," Leo mused.

"Or it could've been sensei," Mikey offered.

"Well then that's all the more reason to find him," Leo said as he started back down the steps.

They made it to the third sublevel and saw Leatherhead, Slash, Rockwell, and Pete standing in a massive pile of droids looking confused.

"Well now we know who didn't shut the droids down," Donnie muttered.

"We see you managed to get your friends free without us Leatherhead," Mikey said stepping forward with a smile.

"It wasn't because of me. They freed themselves," he said but he still seemed perturbed.

"Look guys we need to get out of here. They're powering up that damn portal and we can't be in here when whatever comes out, comes out," Slash said moving towards the stairs himself, his team behind him.

"He's right turtles. We need to leave this place," Leatherhead added.

"That may be so, but the whole point of coming here was to either destroy or disable the portal. Plus we're not going anywhere without sensei," Raph said. Leatherhead's eyes widened a little.

"Where is he? Did the kraang…?"

"No, he went off on his own but we haven't seen him," Leo said trying to hide the worry at the edges of his voice.

"I am here my sons," Splinter said from behind them all.

"Dad!" Mikey said rushing over to his father, hugging him and then checking him all over. Splinter resisted the urge to smile. This was exactly how he used to check for injuries when they were small, masked by a hug first. The others gathered around as well.

"Why'd you leave us? What did you do?" Leo asked, his tone a few notches under the one he reserved for his brothers when they went off half-cocked and he had been worried about them.

"I heard Leatherhead scream, or at least I thought that's what I heard. In any case I went looking for him believing that he was in dire straits. What I found was a room full of kraang droids which I destroyed as well as what I believe was their source of energy," Splinter explained. He could see the worry leave their faces.

"You did hear me Splinter. I was attacked by several ninja robots who cut me, but they suddenly left the battle. I do not know why." Leatherhead showed the deep scars he had in his arms and back.

"That is quite curious," Splinter was pondering when Mikey spoke up.

"So hold up, you said you ran into a room full of kraang droids right?" He asked his master. Splinter nodded, not knowing why it was important.

"It was just you by yourself? With how many?" Mikey asked, his excitement barely contained at the thought of his father handling an entire room of enemies like on the kung-fu movies he liked.

"Yes Michelangelo I was alone. There were maybe close to a hundred robots, but only about fifty or sixty that were operating," Splinter said to the wonder of his youngest son.

"Whoooa, duuuuude" Mikey said looking to all his brothers. All of them had looks of wonder to varying degrees on their faces.

"That's impressive dad," his oldest said.

"Extraordinary..."

"Fuckin' badass…" Raph said then quickly caught what he said as Mikey clapped a hand over his own mouth and laughed.

"Raphael," Splinter chastened but without any anger or real authority behind it. Raph put his head down sheepishly.

"Come my friends, let us leave this place," Leatherhead said on his way out following his group.

"What about the portal? Hello, did we forget about that or is that not on our to-do list anymore?" Donnie asked, irritated that it may be a wasted trip.

"No Donatello, the portal is active now and cannot be destroyed," Leatherhead turned back to say. Donnie was crestfallen to have not been able to use his new gadget, but more so because it seemed that Casey's bad feeling might have had some merit.

"What if you're wrong? What if I can shut it down? Isn't it at least worth a try?" Donnie pleaded, and this time it wasn't born out of a simple need to see if his invention worked.

Splinter thought for a moment before he answered his son, "Donatello, I believe we may need to defer to Leatherhead's experience with the kraang and their technology."

"Trust me Donatello, I want nothing more than the annihilation of the kraang by any means necessary. If I thought there was a chance I would help you in any way I could," Leatherhead said in an attempt to assuage Donnie. Donatello however was heavily conflicted which was unlike him, especially in the face of Splinter's words. However as much as he hated it, he went along with the general consensus.

They all made it out from the depths of the building in one piece, but what greeted them made the blood drain from their faces. Outside of the building, in the middle of the street a very large pink dot appeared in the sky just a few stories high. The wind kicked up furiously but only in the close vicinity of the widening pink dot that was quickly taking the shape of a triangle. Cars came to a complete halt as the passengers got out to stare in dumb awe. The doorway between dimensions opened wider and wider and then they all heard it. The sound of something very large came rumbling through the portal opening.

The largest vessel that any of them had ever seen trundled its way into their world. It looked like a large globe with a very disturbing eyeball like structure mounted on the very top. It had all kinds of mechanical arms and gadgets branching out from all over it. It moved slowly, crushing the asphalt and anything else in its path as it went along.

"Oh no. We gotta fight that thing?" Mikey asked worriedly. They all nodded gravely.

"Yes my son. We must fight it, and defeat it," Splinter said, not really knowing how, but knowing that it must be done.

* * *

Xever was defeated. He knew it, they knew it. He didn't know how but it was happening. As he looked around he could see there wasn't much hope for Setsuko and her ninja either. Karai stood over him, a foot on his heaving chest and her short sword drawn. One of his tanks had been demolished and he was laboring for breath.

"Before you finish it, tell me how you faked your death," he asked genuinely curious over this. He knew Shredder had taken the death hard even if he were too hard-hearted to admit it.

"I didn't fake it Fishface, but I was taught the ancient Immortal Technique. One that you don't know, and it would not help you if you did," Karai said coldly as April and Casey watched.

He tried to look back at Setsuko once more but Karai's foot on his chest prevented the movement. He instead looked into Karai's eyes, and for an instant she could see the human Xever in them.

"Kill them Karai. Kill them for Master Shredder," he seemed to plead with her. She seemed to consider this for a moment before her features hardened again. This time she kneeled until she was as close to face-to-face as they were going to be.

"No. I'll kill them for me," she said as she delivered a quick cut to the place where his carotid artery should have been. Luckily his mutation hadn't moved the vital spot, and the cut was clean. Xever was dead before she could lift her foot from his body.

Karai eyed the fight between the two ninja teams and decided it was more like a wholesale slaughter. Her prime targets however were relatively unscathed. Karai turned to April and Casey.

"You two can get out of here now. Leonardo and the others may need you, but I'll be fine here on my own," Karai said, turning towards the fight once more trying to judge where to insert herself into the melee.

"No, we're not leaving you Karai….sensei," April said. Casey backed her up by smacking the end of his hockey stick into his open palm.

"Fine. Don't get in my way, and don't get yourselves killed," Karai said. Under any other circumstance this would have been an attempt at a witty quip, but Karai was being serious.

She stalked in behind Setsuko and sent a back kick her way but it was avoided narrowly. Setsuko spun around to take inventory of this new attacker, taking note that she did not appear to be in concert with the ninja team Eric brought. It made no difference. Setsuko spun her chains sending them out in Karai's direction as well as at another ninja, both of whom sidestepped. However the other ninja was cut which meant he might have been as good as dead. Seeing that she missed, Setsuko expertly sent the chain out again at Karai. Karai wrapped the weapon around her own, yanking it back towards her, then keeping it in place underneath one booted foot. This was a move Karai always did to counter her in their practice when they were younger. Setsuko's eyes widened in what could only be fear.

"Karai? No, it can't be!" She cried as she tried frantically to retrieve her weapon.

"Yes it can be, and it is," Karai said, her tone even.

"No! You're dead! You're dead!" Setsuko was getting more and more desperate. Karai simply stood with her weapon trapped. Behind her back Karai readied another small knife. Setsuko was predictable, always had been. Karai knew what was coming next. With a scream Setsuko came charging wildly at Karai, a second chain at her other side half coiled around her arm so that she could swing the blade at its end more effectively. Karai was ready for that. Sidestepping the wild charge, Karai brought the kunai down into Setsuko's shoulder. Quickly, she stabbed her in the side when she turned, then again like lightening took the knife and stabbed Setsuko three times in the thigh in quick succession, then finally cut the hand holding the first chain to make her drop it. Karai kicked it away in disgust and fell into a defensive stance, as Setsuko knelt to the floor in pain, blood starting to pool around her.

Kazuko saw from the corner of her eye what was happening to Setsuko, but she was too occupied with enemies to get to her. She had been cut multiple times, but none of them were fatal. As she brought down the two ninjas she was fighting, she thought she heard Setsuko scream Karai's name at the blond Asian girl she was fighting. It was confusing, but the main issue was that the blond girl was cutting Setsuko in a very…familiar way. It reminded Kazuko of Shredder, and no one had mastered that style except…Karai!

Kazuko rushed over to Setsuko, vaulting over fighting ninjas and landing in front of Karai, immediately striking her with her own tanto. Kazuko was always a better fighter than her so-called clan sister Setsuko. She had more emotional control despite being younger, and she tested Karai's skill much more.

Strike. Parry. Attack. Counterattack. It was the way it always used to be between Karai and Kazuko. For Karai there was nothing else happening at this moment. She was intent and focused only on her opponent and nothing else. Several minutes passed as all around them the new ninja group were finishing off the remaining foot soldiers. Even April and Casey were doing clean up duty, subduing any remaining low level foot. The two stayed wary of the ninjas that Eric brought, but they needn't have been. The leader stopped his ninjas from attacking April and Casey for the moment. The enemy of their enemy was effectively their friend for the time being.

Karai and Kazuko fought, and if the circumstances were not so dire, one would even say they were fighting beautifully. Every move, every attack and counter was perfectly timed and executed. However, Kazuko was angry and scared that Setsuko might die. She kept involuntarily taking glances at her friend still bleeding on the floor. This would be the opening that Karai needed. Setsuko had been hurt badly, but the ninjas kept her at bay seeing that she intended on inserting herself into the ensuing fight.

Having been kicked in the chest by Karai and landing a few feet away from her, Kazuko took a running start at Karai. She jumped intending to drive it straight through Karai's head, but this too was predictable. Karai simply raised her own sword and stepped into Kazuko's leap. Unable to change her trajectory, Kazuko could do nothing about Karai's blade cutting one of her legs deeply almost to the bone. Kazuko landed in a crumpled heap, further injuring the leg and breaking an arm that she landed awkwardly on.

Instead of trying to attack again, Kazuko crawled to Setsuko and cried pitifully over her. Karai stood over both of them glaring.

"Go ahead Oroku Karai, finish it! For once earn the right to be called Shredder's daughter, even though you do not share his blood," Setsuko spat. Ichiro, the leader of the ninja clan, looked to the blond in complete surprise but said nothing.

"Don't worry, it ends tonight. The only thing I want to know is why? You two claimed to love him yet you took his head off. Explain that to me," Karai said, her tone even and her face unreadable. April looked at her expecting some form of emotion to read across her face, then admonished herself for not knowing Karai better than that after all this time.

"There's nothing to explain. He was an old fool with old ideas and an obsession with those pathetic turtle mutants and their so-called father," Setsuko said. She bowed her head, a coughing jag wracking her body, blood spewing from her mouth in gouts. Kazuko tried to comfort her but to no avail. When it subsided Setsuko lifted her head once more.

"Now you tell me something before I leave this world," she asked. Karai raised a brow and waited for the question. "How? How did you manage to cheat death?"

"The man you claimed to have taught you all his secrets simply because you lowered yourselves to serve him in his bed, taught me one of the ninjas most guarded of all secrets. He taught me the immortal technique. One that you will not have a chance to employ although you never had the discipline to learn it." Karai drew her sword once more and stepped forward.

Both Setsuko and Kazuko withered under the revelation and their own impending death. However, Setsuko would not allow it to be so easy. She took a small kunai from her sleeve and hid it in her closed palm. As Karai came closer and knelt to deliver the final blow, Setsuko struck out with the knife, but a booted foot crushed the hand before the damage could be done. Setsuko looked up in fury and shock to see the woman with the bright red hair standing on her hand. She was about to protest it but the swipe of Karai's blade silenced it forever. Kazuko was dispatched immediately afterwards.

Karai stepped back and looked the leader of the ninja clan in his eyes, the challenge offered silently. He stepped forward to stand directly in front of Karai. She readied herself for an attack, taking a moment to glance at the long odds and preparing to mentally say her goodbyes to Leonardo until the leader of the clan did something she did not expect. He kneeled before her, and his clan members did the same in her direction.

"I, Ichiro Tanaka pledge his allegiance to Oroku Karai, the rightful leader of the Foot clan," the young Japanese man said in heavily accented, broken English. He remained in that position until Karai signaled him to rise to his feet. He looked her in the eyes before speaking once more. "I am grateful you helped me to avenge my father's death."

"What about Eric Sacks?" Karai asked curious about that relationship and what Eric may have said to get them here. Ichiro smiled behind his mask.

"He believed a gaijin could lead the Foot clan. I allowed this belief so that he would agree to bring me here." Karai nodded in approval.

"If you are loyal to the foot then your work is not over. Come, there is much to be done. We're being invaded," she said as she turned to leave, indicating that the ninja team should follow. Ichiro seemed confused about what she said but followed nonetheless.

April and Casey caught up to Karai as she headed towards the door. "Where are we going now?" April asked.

"I've got a feeling the brothers need assistance. We're going to help them," Karai stated simply. April and Casey looked at each other, relieved that they would be able to gather and fight together instead of being split up.

April, Karai, and Casey piled into the Shell Raiser and headed towards Saki tower feeling they would be ready for anything. They would realize nothing could have prepared them for the invasion of the Kraang.


	20. The Technodrome

"The Technodrome" Rockwell said with no small amount of wonder and worry in his voice.

"The what-no-drome?" Donatello asked incredulously. Rockwell gave him a sharp look. "The Tech-no-drome," he said sounding it out. "It would be the gargantuan spherical vessel before us, genius." He said smugly. Donnie rolled his eyes dramatically but decided not to give that any energy.

"Yes, I have seen the plans for this when I was a prisoner in Dimension X," Leatherhead stated. "Rockwell is the one who named it, but make no mistake, this is the vessel I have heard them discuss on numerous occasion."

"Okay, so we got the history lesson, now how the hell do we get rid of it?" Raph asked, watching it roll down the streets, ripping apart the ground and the adjacent buildings.

"Leatherhead was able to secure the schematics for us some time ago, although they appeared to be incomplete. Among the many weapons, the kraang included a trans-dimensional portal within the Technodrome itself. It would allow the device to be transported anywhere by creating its own opening without the use of an outside portal or power source." Rockwell offered.

"Which means that the power source or power cell should be within this monstrosity. Guys, we need to get in there and destroy this thing from the inside," Donnie said, already trying to figure a way inside.

"Not so fast Donatello, the kraang only allow their own DNA to be recognized in order to enter restricted areas," Leatherhead warned.

Just then the Technodrome stopped, and let out a small army of kraang droids to terrorize individuals on the streets. Leo's eyes lit up.

"I think we just got our ticket inside," he said as they ran forward to meet the droids. The people had long since scattered to the four winds, having seen enough when the Technodrome made its appearance. So for now the mutants did not have to worry over being spotted.

The screech of tires could be heard just as they all started to battle. Raph turned to see Karai, April, and Casey jump out of the van and haul ass to where the fight was.

"Fancy meeting you here Raph. I thought you were my boy, but you didn't even invite me to the kraang party. What gives?" Casey asked playfully, pulling his mask over his face and taking out two droids with one swing of his cricket bat.

"Just shut up and fight numb nuts," Raph said smirking as he drove his sai into the kraang seated in the belly of the droid.

"Hey that's my name Raphie," Mikey whined, his chucks a spinning blur as several droids fell all around him.

"So, you _wanna_ be called numb nuts?" Donnie asked Mikey with a brow ridge raised. He took his bo and swept the feet of a small group of droids, making them fall then taking the opportunity to bash each kraang inside.

"Focus!" Both Leo and Splinter yelled to the other brothers. They looked at each other, gave a brief smile then went back to the task at hand. Splinter had taken to jumping on the heads of the droids, killing the alien inside then hopping to another droid before the previous one fell.

"Splinter and Splinter Jr. Never thought I'd see the day," Raph said shaking his head and downing three more droids.

Karai made her way next to Leonardo. He glanced at her, noticing a change in her demeanor but not for the worse. He was about to ask how everything had gone until Karai stopped and made a hand gesture, signaling to someone Leo couldn't see. Suddenly, a hail of shuriken and arrows rained down around them. For one horrifying second Leo thought the worst. He thought Karai had gotten control of the foot and brought them to finally finish off him and his brothers, but as the kraang fell in groups all around, he understood what was happening.

"Don't kill them all, we need them to get inside the machine!" Donnie yelled.

A team of ninja jumped down from who knows where and started fighting. Everyone except April and Casey paused to acknowledge this with a bit of confusion and disbelief. These were foot ninja judging by the emblem on their arm bands, but they were not fighting against the mutants but rather alongside them. Furthermore, they seemed to be taking orders from none other than Karai, who was barking them out left and right.

Leo led his brothers and sensei towards the place the droids exited the machine. They each had a kraang in their hands, who were struggling against being held.

"Ewww this is sooo gross bros. Their squishy!" Mikey complained in a high pitched voice as his kraang wouldn't stop wiggling around and hissing at him. Donnie was looking at the one in his hand a little more closely.

"They're also slick. They seem to be covered in a gelatinous membrane of some sort. It really is fas-"

"If you say it's fascinating you're gonna get whacked like I do Mikey, brainiac," Raph threatened, holding the kraang in his hand very far in front of him. Leo was doing the same. Donnie swallowed hard.

"Okay, okay I won't say it's fascinating. It is intriguing though," he said, ducking under Raph's glare.

"Karai aren't you coming in with us?" Leo questioned just as they made it to the large doorway.

"No, my ninja team needs to see me. I have to establish myself in battle before them. I can't hope to command their respect otherwise. We will take care of this thing from the outside," Karai said, dodging Leo's kraang to give him a quick peck on his blunt nose before going the other way. He watched after her for a few seconds until he heard Splinter clear his throat.

"Our mission my son," he said to his eldest.

"Yeah loverboy, head out of the clouds if you don't mind," Raph teased.

"Angel Caaaaakkeesss!" Mikey screamed as loud as he could.

"I'm right here Mikey," April said with a hand over her ear.

"Oh, hehe there you are. Come with us," he said and it was a plea more than a command. April nodded, not intending on fighting him on it this time. Mikey smiled in relief.

There was a scan on the door. The pink light ran over all of them before going out. There was a long pause then the door hydraulics hissed as it opened. They all filed in, dropping their respective alien and killing it before it could scamper away.

"You mean to tell me I carried that nasty ass thing, and all we needed was one?" Raph growled, throwing the alien to the floor in disgust, and glaring at Donnie who only shrugged in response.

"Excuse me for not knowing how it worked," Donnie defended himself. Raph growled and readied his weapons again. The hall was disturbingly quiet. They all crept to the end of the hall to see that it went in both directions, presumably in a circular path. Pink lights that looked like alarms were strobing on the ceilings. Everyone looked to Donnie to show the way.

"You got any idea where we should head to kill this thing Donnie?" Leo asked. Donnie paused thinking. The technology was so foreign he didn't think he would be able to hack into it. He'd only had a short while to make the small scan he had, and on top of that he wasn't even sure it would work on anything.

"Well, our best bet is to find the control room or wherever a power core may be. That's usually in the middle of the structure, and perhaps above us," he said, unsure of his own answer but it was his best guess. Leo nodded in thought also.

"It'll have to do for now. I did notice that big eyeball up top. Maybe if we can get up there we'll find what we need."

They all agreed and went to their left. They were all in full stealth. April was doing the best she could in that area which wasn't too shabby considering the short amount of training she received.

After running for what seemed like forever, they reached what could only be described as the elevators. They were transparent tubes stretching the length of the Technodrome. Inside them kraang were zipping up and down the levels. To the side was what seemed to be a rather ordinary button with which to open the tube on their level. April noticed everyone's hesitation, so she simply touched the button and the tube nearest them opened.

"Voila," she said, gesturing them to enter the tube before her. They all mumbled their disapproval of her taking the risk, but got in anyway.

"Okay guys, any idea how to make this thing go?" Leo asked. They all turned to Donnie, who made an angry face at all of them.

"Quit looking at me like I've been here before. I have no idea how to get this thing to go to the control room!" Donnie shouted, irritated at how they expected him to know all the answers.

All of a sudden they started moving at a high speed upwards through the tube. In a matter of seconds the tube opened upon another level, which looked suspiciously like a control floor.

"See Donnie, you did know what to do," April said patting him on the shell while they all left the tube. Donnie shook his head and stood in the empty hall with the rest of them.

"We haven't had to fight since we got in here. Anybody else think that's strange?" Leo asked readying his swords as a precaution.

"Yeah, somethin' ain't right about this," Raph said.

As they stood, panels on the walls slid open and kraang droids came pouring out.

"Kraang! Destroy the intruders known as the turtles! Keep them away from what is called our power cell!" One kraang commanded of its comrades.

"Idiots," Donnie commented. Now he was sure they were in the right spot.

"Idiots or not we've gotta clear the floor of them," Leo stated, getting started on that right away.

"Or mop the floor with 'em," Mikey added, whirling his chucks and knocking down three droids at once. "Angel cakes stay behind me. They're gonna start shooting and you can't dodge it yet," he told April as she hastily agreed.

"I don't believe we have much time. Let's finish this quickly," Splinter said, sprinting off on the heads of kraang droids.

* * *

Meanwhile Leatherhead and his crew, plus Karai and her band of Foot ninjas were trying to destroy the Technodrome from the outside. Leatherhead and Slash were climbing it trying to get to the weapons they saw jutting out from the surface. Overhead the sound of military choppers could be heard as well as the rumble of what had to be approaching tanks.

"Slash, we need to get out of the line of fire!" Leatherhead tried to shout over the din of the machine itself. Slash looked at him but couldn't hear what was said. Leatherhead pointed behind Slash. Slash looked around and saw the choppers coming their way. He turned to give Leatherhead an 'oh shit' look before uselessly ducking. They all heard the chopper shooting, but no one felt the impact. Rockwell looked up to see the chopper fire deflected off the surface of the Technodrome.

' _This contraption has a deflector shield. We shouldn't have to worry about being shot my friends,'_ Rockwell telepathically sent to his friends. He could see his friends nod their understanding and continue trying to get to the guns to dismantle them.

The military tanks finally showed up, letting off round after round of fire without effect. They had to start backing away as the Technodrome advanced. Nothing seemed to be slowing it down.

Karai was directing her ninjas to attack the treads in an attempt to stop it quite literally in its tracks.

"Ichiro we need to stop this thing or at least direct it towards the ocean," Karai told him as she got next to him.

"Hai Master Karai," he said and disappeared with a small group of the ninjas underneath the large sphere.

Karai took the rest of the team and climbed to get alongside Slash, Leatherhead, and Rockwell. As she got up to the first weapon, she looked above to see that one of the guns was being ripped from its moorings and thrown to the ground. It was Rockwell using his telekinetic energy to tear it apart, but that was slow going. Even from her vantage point it seemed to take a lot out of the mutant chimpanzee. Nevertheless he trudged upwards working his way towards the next target.

She had made it next to Slash who was beating one of the guns mercilessly with his large mace, when they heard the whine of machinery and a vibration run through the whole thing. They looked around, only to find that one of the guns was glowing pink and eventually shot a laser at the tanks below, destroying one and then moving to aim at another. Thankfully the shots were not coming in quick succession. The gun seemed to have a cooling and charging period between shots.

"Great, all we need now is for the damn thing to transform," Slash lamented still beating the gun and making very little progress.

Karai said nothing as she looked around. She would continue to fight, all night if she had to, but she saw no way they would defeat this thing from outside. She could only hope the turtles were having more luck.


	21. Die For Me

The floor was absolutely littered with busted kraang droids and messy aliens. Donatello stared at the console and the screen before him. He was in the unusual position of not knowing his way around the technology he was looking at. Everything was pink and blue and in characters that he couldn't understand or find a way to decipher.

"How's it going Donnie?" Leo called over his shoulder. All of them were standing guard at the doors. Every so often a group of droids were coming up that they would have to fight. No one knew how many there were, but they figured more would come as Donnie began to hack the Technodrome's systems.

"It isn't going at all yet Leo. It's all in kraang language and I can't understand it," Donnie called back the frustration showing in his voice.

"Is there a button that translates it?" Mikey asked. At first Donnie was going to give him a quick lashing about how this wasn't a comic book, but then he thought about it.

"You know what Mikey, that might not be such a bad idea," Donnie said as he started to search for something that would help him translate the language.

He searched everywhere, being careful not to accidentally set something off. He kneeled down to find a button just underneath the console. He closed his eyes then took the chance to press it. Flinching, he was surprised and relieved to see a panel slide out with multiple lights, buttons, and a small touchscreen next to them. Tentatively he touched the screen and images of planets popped up. He didn't recognize many of the ones he saw, assuming they were from some other part of the galaxy in another solar system.

It took him several minutes, plus a break in order to help fight off a particularly large group of kraang droids that came through the 'elevator' doors. He was just about to give up when he came across the planet Mercury, then Mars, then Earth. He hesitated but really anything was worth a shot at this point. With a shaky finger he touched the image of Earth, and like magic the characters on the screens and consoles became an Earth based language. It was Russian. Donnie chuckled a little at this. It was only half turtle luck at this point. He looked at the image of Earth again this time touching North America and everything turned to English.

 **'System Ready'**

They all heard it boom over their heads.

"Big D does it again bruh!" Mikey whooped as another group of kraang came to interrupt them.

"Don't celebrate yet Mikey. You guys gotta keep them off me until I can figure out how to shut this thing down or destroy it," Donnie said as he frantically tried to figure out how to hack the computer.

* * *

Maxine was glued to the television. A horrid monstrosity was dealing death and destruction along the city streets. The news helicopters were trying to film it, but wouldn't get too close for fear of being shot. She knew Raphael and his brothers and friends were there dealing with it.

The sound of the shower died in the bathroom. A few minutes later Asha emerged with nothing but a large towel wrapped around her. Her eyes were downcast and it looked like she could use another round of sleep. Maxine grabbed the remote but felt Asha's hand stop her. She sat down in the recliner with a plop. Maxine looked at her friend worriedly.

"Asha you can't keep torturing yourself like this," Maxine said as she sat back on the couch, tossing the remote down beside her for good measure.

"There's an alien invasion happening, and you don't want to see what's going on?" Asha said. She never looked at Maxine and her voice was hollow. It hurt Max to see her friend without any of her usual verve.

"They'll make it out," Max tried to comfort. Asha simply kept watching the screen.

"They need to move it to the water. That might buy a little time," Asha said with that same monotone. She thought of Donnie. He would have already thought of that.

Max's eyes flickered to the screen then back at Asha. She could see that resolve forming in Asha's eyes. Her body tensed as she subconsciously leaned forward more and more in her seat.

"No." Max said sternly. Asha's head snapped her way, then she sat back sheepishly.

"I know you want to be out there, but…"

"No Max, I don't want to be out there. I want them to come back. I want Donnie to come home."

* * *

It was frustrating to the utmost. Every single time he tried to interface with the stupid kraang computer it switched back to kraang language. He would have to remedy this and quickly. Donatello reached for the pack on his back bringing his keyboard around along with a small contraption to hook up to it. He instantly thought of Asha when he held these items. He was so out of it when he realized so many things were stolen from him when they got captured. It was Asha that had given him a wad of cash to replace most of those items, and replace them he did. Of course he had to modify most of it to do what he needed it to do, but still. He would be seriously up the creek without a paddle had it not been for her generosity, and this was before they were a couple.

The new keyboard was wireless and he was so hoping that wouldn't be a problem. He switched it on and connected it to his wrist scan with the kraang settings. He kicked himself mentally for not doing this before. It didn't retranslate any of the things onscreen, but he didn't need that anymore. On the large monitor above him, equations appeared and disappeared, remaining there only for a few seconds. He watched it for a while angry that he couldn't solve them before they went away, until he realized they were simply cycling through. He took a deep breath and got into position.

There was no seat here big enough to accommodate his size, so Donnie sat on the floor facing the screen, keyboard on his lap and pink equations reflecting off his thick lenses. This calmed him amid all the chaos. Numbers, variables, solving problems. All these were a balm to his ever-calculating mind. The need and opportunity to solve these mathematical problems transported him unexpectedly to his personal brand of happy place. He breathed deeply through his nostrils and pushed his glasses up on the blunt bridge of his nose.

On the screen, not only were the equations cycling back and forth, but they were accompanied by pictures. He assumed the solution to the problems would give access to the various parts of the Technodrome depicted. His tongue found its familiar spot in the corner of his mouth as he set to work.

Suddenly the machine lurched to one side setting off a ton of alarms. They couldn't be sure but it felt like it was…

"Turning around. I think this thing is turning around guys," Leo called out to them. "Everybody hold on to something. I got a feeling this won't be smooth."

* * *

Ichiro and the rest of the ninja had done enough to stop the treads on one side, causing the behemoth to drag and start turning around. Luckily it was headed towards the water. The military had sent every tank, chopper, and fighter plane at it with no effect. The Technodrome's shields were too strong. However, being only able to deflect firepower left it open to what Karai could only think of as 'manual attacks'.

Her ninjas never surfaced from the tread area completely. She saw them make their way to the other side. Meanwhile she, Slash, Rockwell, and Leatherhead had made as much progress as to be expected. They had managed to disable two more guns, but fatigue was starting to set in for Karai. Leatherhead had offered to carry her on his back whenever they had to climb, and she hadn't the strength to refuse.

"We are going to go to the other side and take out the weapons there. Hopefully the turtles will have found a way to get rid of this thing once and for all," Leatherhead told her sensing her exhaustion and her worry. She couldn't manage more than a nod.

Rockwell made his way over to his friends.

"I need to get inside and assist the turtle who fancies himself a genius. He will not know how to decipher the kraang language in order to bypass the security and interface with the systems computers," he said as he sped off in the direction of the only entrance.

Slash and Leatherhead nodded as they continued their own objective of the guns.

* * *

Rockwell made quick work of the incoming kraang droids as he found his way to the control center. He almost got stabbed by a pair of sai before they realized it was friend and not foe. With no greeting he leaped over them and swung his way via the ceiling wires to where Donatello was seated, working on the last of the equations.

"You will need my help to bypass the kraang security reptile," Rockwell said, getting ready to take over for Donnie, who only gave him a reproachful look. He pushed his glasses up once again, stiffly this time before he spoke.

"That's already been done," he said. "Monkey brains," he muttered under his breath afterwards, putting his head down and accessing the trans-dimensional portal.

"I heard that turtle," Rockwell said, giving Donnie his own sharp look before staring at the progress Donnie had made. "It seems you have activated the portal. This is excellent, however you must realize that once it has been set it cannot be undone. We will also have a very limited time to vacate the premises afterwards."

"This is where I may need your help Rockwell. I need to set it to go back to Dimension X," Donnie said rising to his feet, the image of the portal blinking green on the screen above.

"Here, allow me to handle this," Rockwell said moving over to the console. His fingers flew over the controls, and in a matter of seconds he had the portal set. A counter took up the entire monitor.

"I can't read these numbers, how much time do we have Rockwell?" Donnie asked, eyes large behind his glasses.

"Exactly four minutes and thirty-six seconds," he said. He telepathically sent this warning out to his friends on the hull.

* * *

"Karai, we have to get off of this thing. Rockwell says it will be destroyed in less than five minutes," Leatherhead told her as he started to descend much more quickly than he climbed.

As they got closer to the bottom, she signaled to her ninja's to abandon ship. She was pleased to see that more than half of them were still alive. Her mind immediately turned to Leonardo. She had to make sure _he_ got out alive. Before they had climbed down she saw that they were almost on the docks. The machine lurched badly as the concrete began to give way underneath it. The tanks had followed it, despite several of them being destroyed by the thing's guns. At first no one was worried about it, until one of the tank's munitions actually hit the Technodrome.

Leatherhead's eyes widened as much as they could as he and Slash held on for dear life. Karai held on to Leatherheads scales, cutting her hands in the process.

"Whatever those turtles and Rockwell did it took out the shields, so we gotta blow this joint," Slash yelled as he took off down the side.

"Hold on," Leatherhead called to Karai as he too went swiftly down.

* * *

Inside the Technodrome Donnie just stood at the control panel staring. Splinter and Leo came over to him, panic and relief in their eyes.

"What's going on Donnie? Come on let's get out of here!" Leo yelled, pulling Donnie, but his brother wouldn't budge. He just pointed at the screen that was now cycling through four views. First, it was showing what was happening outside like a large window. Secondly, it was showing the escape pods that were now being deployed, thirdly it was showing the damage that the Technodrome was taking, and the fourth view was the countdown.

"We need to get to the escape pods," he said simply, turning his attention back to the controls and readying the pods.

Just then they all fell to the floor at the terrible lurching of the alien warship. Then they felt several more aftershocks, as outside the military realized the machine could now be hit and possibly destroyed.

"What the hell was that?" Raph and Casey screamed.

"We must be getting hit from the outside. We have to go now! Leo, Donnie what's the holdup?!" April shouted not knowing which way to go to get out.

Jolted out of the mesmerizing views on the screens, they all headed to where the escape bay was. It was treacherous getting there as kraang droids were also running around trying to get out, but still managing to fight or simply be in the way. At long last they found themselves within the escape hatch where the remaining pods were.

The Technodrome lurched again and this time it didn't feel the same. They couldn't see it but they could sense it, it had finally fallen into the water. The other vibrations were it being hammered by the military.

"Okay everyone pick a pod and jump in, we have to hustle!" Donnie shouted. They all jumped into one each. Surprisingly they were just big enough inside for the turtles to fit uncomfortably. Donnie secured them all and then his face dropped. There were only six functioning pods, and he was the seventh man.

* * *

Outside the mutants and Karai watched in horror as the Technodrome fell into the water. If this had been the bay or one of the rivers it wouldn't have been such a big deal, but this was the Atlantic Ocean. It wasn't even the beach where the land sloped gently into the water, but the industrial part of the docks where large vessels like barges and ocean liner's dropped anchor. The dropoff here was drastic and came up quickly. Already the warship was more than half submerged. Not to mention the constant barrage of heavy firepower from both the tanks on the ground and the gunships in the air were pushing it further in.

No one had seen the turtles come out. Kraang were trying to escape via escape pods but they had been shot out of the sky. A new fear gripped Karai as she thought perhaps the turtles had been in those small ships.

As the military came closer Karai, her ninjas, and the mutants moved to the shadows. They took cover behind the concrete debris and the shipping containers stacked high. Karai watched the water as the Technodrome sunk deeper until it could no longer be seen. No other escape ships had left it, of that she was sure. She thought of her t-phone hoping that it hadn't gotten crushed or lost in the fight. She patted herself but didn't find it. She cursed under her breath as all she could do now was wait.


	22. Live For Me

**A/N: I've done something I don't typically do. I uploaded two chapters at the same time. If the story seems disjointed, or seems as though details are missing, you may want to go back a chapter. After 'Technodrome' I added two chapters. The first is ' Die for me' the other is 'Live for me'. Thanks so much for reading and all the support and love I got for this story :)**

* * *

It was Splinter who first realized the dilemma. He was about to close the door to his small escape chamber, then opened it and jumped out.

"My son, go in my place I will stay behind and find my own way out," Splinter said trying to sound confident. His little Donnie-bo was always so strong-minded, and he could see resolve in his eyes. Donnie had made his calculations and the numbers didn't lie.

"Dad, no. This thing has taken too much damage and now someone has to manually set the hatches free. No one can work this stuff but me. I have to tell the computer to let you out, it won't do it on its own," Donnie said. He tried to sound like he had himself together but he didn't. He didn't think he had ever been so far away from together as he was now. By this time Leo, Raph, and Mikey had joined with April and Casey hanging back, anxious and not quite knowing what the holdup was.

"Nah bruh, you can't do this Donnie. I'm the best swimmer, I can make it out of here by myself. You take mine bro," Mikey pleaded his eyes watering already.

"Donatello as your leader I am ordering you not to do this. We will find a way out together, or we will die here together," Leo said sternly. Donnie knew his brothers long enough to know they each meant every word. He couldn't allow it. No one could work the computer but him, and they all knew it. Time was also running out, how much they had left he did not know.

"No!" Donnie said furious at the thought of them all senselessly dying. "You all get into those pods now. The only reason I think there are still any left is because they can't self-operate. Someone needs to stay behind to send them off. We don't have much time Leo. Either the army will destroy it with us inside, or we will drown in it as it sinks to the bottom of the ocean. Either way, I won't stand for all of us perishing when there's no need."

His tone held such finality that even Splinter found it difficult to respond. His furry face became wet with tears.

"Are you sure my son?" He asked his second youngest. Donatello who had always been so bright and far ahead of everyone in his academic knowledge. Yet he always showed humility and never flaunted it in front of his brothers. Donatello, his brave smart little boy would sacrifice his very life for his family.

"Yes father I'm sure," he said as his voice wavered with emotion. He would hold back those tears however. There was no way he was going to send his family away with the last memory of him crying like a complete wuss.

"Donatello," Raph ground out through gritted teeth. Anger and hurt vied for supremacy over his face until they reached a compromise. Anger settled in his body and hurt across his face. Donnie hadn't seen Raphael shed tears since they were children.

"Raph, just go man," Donnie said looking each of his brothers in the eyes before settling on Leo and pointing the watch on his wrist. "Time is ticking."

Mikey couldn't contain it. Splinter had beat him to it, so Mikey settled for crushing his father between his and Donnie's plastrons. Mikey's sobs wracked his body like a brief but powerful storm. The usually chatty baby brother had no words to express the depth of his admiration for his brother, grief at having to say goodbye to him, and guilt for leaving him behind.

"Thank you is not enough Donnie, but you must promise me you will try to get out. Don't just stay here," Leo said, the tears falling freely as he held Donnie's shoulders in a vice grip.

The lights on the ceiling flashed an angry pink and red, as they all took notice. Time was running out if it hadn't been spent already. Donnie looked into his brother's face. So much had gone unspoken between them, but it never piled up. Without words he and Leonardo had always had an easy relationship, the love between them tangible. Donnie reached for the strap that held his tech pack on his back. He ran his fingers across it lovingly before undoing the buckle. He handed it over to his brother.

"Keep this as collateral okay? I promise to try to find a way out," Donnie said holding out the heavy pack for Leo to take. The eldest brother took the pack, grabbed the back of Donnie's head with one hand and drew him down to kiss the top of his head like he did when they were small.

Another big jolt rocked them, sending them all to the floor.

"Alright, let's rock-n-roll people! In the pods, now!" Donnie yelled as his family piled in without him. Not a single eye was dry, not even Casey's who had grasped the level of sacrifice being done so that he could live.

April could only manage a feeble wave and press her open palm to the glass, as Donnie waved back, a huge grin on his face. She turned her tear-streaked face and put it in her hands as she felt the moorings give and the pod jet out from the opened doors.

* * *

Time ticked slowly by as Karai had to keep remembering to breathe. Still nothing.

"Come with me," Leatherhead said quietly from behind her. Without protest she followed the alligator down the length of the docks and halfway into the water before he spoke again.

"I will search for them. It occurs to me that they may not have come to the shore where people were waiting," he said as he leaned his large frame smoothly and silently in the water. She shuddered as she watched him. How much deadlier was he in the water than on land?

He was gone for several minutes before he resurfaced. Karai didn't even see him until he was half out of the water. She looked at him expectantly but he shook his head solemnly. Karai felt a clench in her heart. She should have gone in with them, she should have made sure they were okay and now she lost him. Slowly she dropped to the rocky ground, not caring that the jagged pebbles were digging into her knees. Karai hugged herself trying not to cry or break down. She needed to be strong, but how much could she take? Just as she was about to give up, she saw Leatherhead move forward into the water again. Silent and sleek, his tail becoming a rudder as it moved back and forth propelling him in the water.

Karai tried to peer through the darkness but couldn't see anything. After several more agonizing minutes he came swimming back pushing something large in front of him to the shore. He went back and forth exactly six more times, each time pushing a large thing to the shore. Inside were all the turtles. Karai couldn't contain her joy. She went by breaking the mechanism to open them all until she found Leonardo.

Opening his pod, she waited until he sat up. He climbed out of it and stood to his full height immediately going over to the edge of the water, wading into it. She expected them to be happier and engaged in their usual banter with one another, but they were completely silent. She stood in front of Leo and looked up into his eyes. The other brothers and Splinter stood like sentinels in a row, all of them scanning the water.

Horror filled her eyes as she realized one was missing. The tall one, Donatello was painfully absent. Leo looked down at her, his eyes tear-filled as she reached for him. She knew the pain of loss. There was no playful game of cat and mouse, no sassy wit, no sarcasm. She did her best to draw him into an embrace and he immediately reciprocated, almost crushing her to himself. She felt his tears drop to her shoulder and run down her back.

"D-Donnn-nie" he choked out in a whisper, and it broke her heart in two to hear the pain in his voice.

* * *

Water rushed into the pod bay as Donnie released the last of his family. He wasn't worried about running out of air. Being a turtle certainly had its advantages. He was more concerned about being swept out into the open ocean only to be caught in an undercurrent. He looked around for anything he could hold on to or any way out. He'd promised Leo he would not give up. It had been a blessing in disguise giving his pack away. Not having the extra weight could only be a positive in this situation. Plus he didn't wanna have to replace it all over again because he let it get wet. He spotted the last now defunct pod and waded to it, the water now at knee height. It was starting to pour in through the ceiling and other various holes and breaches. He was pleased to see that it opened, and he hastily got inside before the water could get in with him. With a hiss, the hydraulics on the door closed and snapped shut.

Now there was nothing to do. Getting out now would mean having to wait until the water filled the room then swimming into another area in hopes that a way out could be found. It was too risky. Climbing the walls wasn't an option as he was sure he'd be electrocuted by all the exposed circuitry. The trans-dimensional portal setting must not have worked either, seeing as how it had been more than five minutes and he was still here.

Donnie leaned back now letting the tears flow. He had said his goodbyes to his brothers, but then there was Asha. He would not be able to say goodbye to her, or comfort her in any way. As far as he knew she was still unconscious and that thought alone tore him up inside. She would wake up looking for him and he wouldn't be there. Then a thought occurred. It was a long shot but maybe he would try, if only to leave a message for her. He took off his glasses, wiped his eyes and put them back on. It was tight and he could barely reach around, but he grabbed his t-phone and checked it. It was cracked but he hoped it was still operational.

* * *

Asha was the only one up now. Maxine sat up on the couch in a restless sleep. The volume on the television was muted but Asha didn't need sounds to see what was happening. That thing had gone into the water. It had been shot at and now it was sinking.

Earlier she had gotten her t-phone, indecisive about whether or not she should risk calling Donnie or not. He was busy to say the least, and if he didn't answer it would only make her worry more. With her legs folded underneath her, she fiddled with the small phone in her hand. She was about to go ahead and try to reach him when it lit up. She held it for a second as though she didn't know what it was, then hurried to answer it. When she opened the phone she saw it was Donnie. He was trying to video chat with her but she couldn't understand what he was saying as the sound kept cutting in and out badly.

Asha clasped a hand over her mouth as the tears welled in her eyes. There was relief to be seeing him, but she couldn't hear him and she couldn't make out if his was an expression of happiness or what. He seemed as though he were crying too or had been, but that could have been for any number of reasons.

"Donnie, I love you," it was the first thing she thought to say. Either he heard her or he saw her say it because he smiled broadly but the sadness in his face was unmistakable.

He couldn't hear her but he could read her lips. He could see her. She was up and she was okay and he could see her beautiful face. She'd told him she loved him, and it soothed him more than she could ever know.

"I love you too," He said, pointing to his eye, then his heart, then to her, then held up two of his fingers. She broke down with her hand over her face. He wished she would take her hand down so he could see her more. Asha finally removed her hand, trying to compose herself. With all the will she could gather she smiled brightly for him. She remembered. He told her his favorite thing about her face was her smile, with her eyes running a very close second. He told her he wanted to see it at least once every single day, and she had agreed.

Asha kissed her two fingers and put them to the small screen, then held the phone in both hands as though she were holding his face between them. She didn't want to smile, she wanted scream and run to him and save him from whatever doom made him want to say his goodbyes. She knew he would never want that, he would never approve. She wouldn't move from this spot because whatever had happened to lead to this point, she knew that Donnie was being brave, and she would also be brave for him.

He was about to kiss his fingers to the screen too, when from somewhere in the depths of the sunken vessel an explosion rocked him. He dropped the phone to his feet where there was no way he was able to reach for it. The blurry pink lights that shone through the pod glass were replaced by utter darkness. With a feeling somewhere between relief and horror, Donnie knew that his pod had been blown free and he was now floating in the ocean.

* * *

Splinter's ears twitched. The muffled sound of an explosion from the depths of the water reached him. Unable to hold back or wait anymore, he sunk into the water paddling out to where there was still debris floating to the surface. Behind him he could feel his second oldest, hearing his gruff voice grunt with the effort of trying to catch up with his father.

"Dad what're you…" Raph was about to say until Splinter placed a finger to his lips. He then pointed to where there were bubbles coming up. Raphael saw the spot Splinter was pointing to and immediately ducked down into the dark water to see what he could see. He came back up and looked to his father for permission to investigate. With a short nod, Raphael dove under the water. Dodging the floating debris tested his underwater maneuverability greatly as he often couldn't see anything until he was almost upon it. As he turned around in the water he spotted something that looked like the coffins they had just climbed out of. He swam to it as quickly as he could. When he peered inside he almost swallowed a lungful of water as Donnie looked up at him, just as surprised as he was. With a great effort Raphael got under the container and pushed with all his considerable might towards the surface.

When they got to the top Raphael took a gasp of air and shouted for Splinter.

"Dad! Dad! It's Donnie!" He exclaimed as Splinter swam to them both, helping Raph to get the pod to the shore.

As they made it to shore everyone ran out to meet them. Leo wasted no time not waiting to see if Donnie could free himself, he broke the mechanism and almost dragged Donnie from its confines. They fell into the water as Leo refused to let him out of the bear hug he had him in. It became a full on dog pile as his brothers jumped on top

"Guys, guys," Donnie gasped as he struggled for breath underneath his brothers.

They jumped off of him, smiling and crying and simultaneously asking if he were okay. Raph helped him up and then stood looking at him. Donnie had to catch his glasses from falling to the ground as he was snatched in a clinch by Raphael who was crying in relief. Donnie rubbed circles into his brother's shell, calming and consoling him as he whispered that he was fine.

Eventually Raph let him go as the helicopters above began to fly over with their large searchlights. Leo turned to see Karai speaking to some ninja, then turn away when the ninja and his group vanished from sight. She came back over to stand with Leo not answering the question in his eyes yet.

"We have plenty of time for me to explain, but for now I think we need to go home Leonardo," Karai said as she began to back away from the search light.

"I couldn't agree more," Splinter said as they made their way back towards the streets where they could get underground.

April and Casey had to skirt around the military and pretty much steal the Shell Raiser as it had been cordoned off with the rest of the area.

* * *

It was slow going but as soon as they got out of range of all the ruckus, Donnie veered off heading another way.

"Donnie where're you goin' bruh?" Mikey said clinging to his brother's arm. He wasn't ready to let him out of his sight yet.

"I gotta go see Asha," Donnie said turning to give Mikey a reassuring hug and starting off again.

"She might still be out of it Donnie, you sure you don't wanna rest up before you go?" Leo asked. He also wasn't ready to let Donnie out of his sight.

Donnie shook his head.

"Don't worry about me guys. I'll be back later, maybe tomorrow night or something. I called her when, you know, and she's awake now," he said as he turned back around to continue his long walk. They nodded in complete understanding as Mikey smiled at his brother's back.

"He's gonna get laid," Mikey said with a crooked grin, but didn't have strength to duck the smack coming his way.

* * *

Asha was inconsolable. Maxine had given up as Asha locked herself in her room, the t-phone forgotten. She felt helpless not being able to say the words to make it all better. Her own tears fell as she thought of the fact that such a big sacrifice had been made by mutants that the world would never recognize or accept.

After at least an hour, Asha finally emerged from her room and plopped down in the recliner again not saying a single word. Her eyes were puffy and sore and swollen. She sat there rocking in the darkness. Maxine lay on the couch now asleep. Asha was going to sleep as well until she heard a knock at the door that she promptly ignored. She heard it again as the knocking became persistent. In an angry huff she got up and headed to the door.

"I swear whoever this is you better have a real good excuse-" Asha said opening it and finding a smiling Donnie standing there. She felt weak in the knees and Donnie had to catch her to keep her from falling as he stepped in.

"Is seeing my girlfriend a good enough excuse?" He asked stepping all the way in.

Words caught in her throat and only when he scooped her up into his arms and started kissing her, did she allow herself to know that he was real.

They stood just inside the door as they kissed passionately, unable to let go of one another and not wanting to. Asha snatched off his glasses and his mask not wanting any obstruction between her fingers and his skin. After a long while, when Asha's lips were swollen from the kiss, they came up for air. He had walked her into her bedroom and closed the door and she hadn't even noticed until she looked around. He placed her gently on the bed, and then crawled in behind her and spooned.

He wanted to talk to her but sheer exhaustion stopped him. Soon he had drifted into a heavy sleep. Asha wanted to wake him, wanted him to tell her everything but she dared not even move to turn around. Whatever Donnie wanted right now he was going to get, and right now he wanted to simply spoon with her and sleep. She would talk in the morning. For now she enjoyed the steady puffs of his cool breath on her neck, the hardness of his plastron on her back, and his arms wrapped securely around her.


	23. Epilogue

The morning found a well-rested Donnie cuddled with a sleeping Asha in his arms. He'd been awake now for just about fifteen minutes. He was going to wake her, but he wanted to keep her next to him for a little while longer. He smoothed her hair back revealing her peaceful face and the graceful curve of her neck. He placed a trail of tender kisses there, waking her up with them. Asha stirred in her sleep finally wiping her eyes and turning over. Slightly giggling she covered her face.

"Uncover your face, I wanna see you," Donnie said gently tugging her hands down, but she stiffened her arms and giggled some more. Finally she opted for covering her mouth only.

"I nee' oo 'ush ah 'eeth," she mumbled behind her hand. She started to get up but he pulled her closer, laughing at her discomfort.

"'Onnieee," she complained. He held her a little longer before letting her go. He laid back putting his hands behind his head and waited for her to come back. A few minutes later she came back leaning against the doorway one hand on her hip, one hand propped on the wall.

"Can you talk now?" He said still smiling brightly. He couldn't help himself. He was happy to be alive, happy to be here with her. She gave him a bright smile in return and pretty much jumped on him straddling his chest. She leaned down and kissed his lips before just stretching her body out on top of his. Her fingers found his necklace and played with it. He loved it when she did that although he couldn't have said why. Maybe because her face was always in the crook of his neck when she did it.

"When did you wake up?" Donnie asked, running his hands up and down her back and sides slowly.

"I woke up the night this all started. Maxine told me you attacked that damn tower," she said, still playing with his necklace. She inched her face up and started kissing his neck a little.

"I thought about you that whole time Asha," he said trying to ignore her kisses.

"Mm hmm," she said still kissing his neck. She moved up to his mouth and he eagerly returned the attention. When he thought about it he still couldn't believe she was his.

His hands moved more freely, running under her t-shirt where he couldn't feel a bra strap. He moved his hands lower to her butt and grabbed two handfuls, making her moan in his mouth. She broke the kiss reluctantly and stared into his brown eyes.

"I think we probably should get over to the new lair," she said unable to keep her lips off his.

"Mm hmm," he said moaning when she drew her fingertips up and down his tender sides.

* * *

Everything was disheveled, not all of their things were unpacked but the buzz around the lair was one of happiness. Karai, Casey, April, and Splinter sat at the kitchen table waiting for breakfast that was being cooked mainly by Mikey, with Leo and Raph as his sous chefs.

"I'm tired of whipping eggs Mikey," Raph said with a groan. "And why do we gotta wear these stupid aprons," he complained.

"It's 'whisking' eggs, and you don't wanna be the 'Cook with the Looks'? Say it ain't so Raphie," Mikey laughed. Raph's cheeks turned red at the use of the name _and_ what was printed on the apron for all to see.

"Shut up Mikey, or I'm gonna…" Raph growled out, but the sound of someone nearing the entrance cut him off. He threw down the bowl of half beaten eggs and ran to the door.

Donnie, Asha, and Maxine came sauntering in with grins on their faces.

"'Sup Donnie. Thundacat! You pulled through it! I knew you was too damn stubborn and nosy to stay out of it for long," he Raph said placing a large hand on the top of her head, mussing her hair.

"Somebody has to stick around to kick your ass on a regular basis," she said sticking her tongue out and scooting around him to get to Mikey who was already running towards her and picking her up.

"Asha!" he said whirling her around and planting a loud kiss on her cheek. He put her down then led her to the kitchen with one arm around her shoulders.

Raph looked over at Maxine, a small smile turning up the corners of his mouth.

"What about you? You miss me or somethin'?" He asked, watching her blush. She stood back a moment, reading the embarrassing apron then looking up into his face.

"Hmm, I think I can vouch for this apron. I don't know if you can cook or not, but you certainly have the looks," Max said taking a chance and tracing a delicate finger along the top edge of his plastron. Raph didn't stop her from touching him, and in fact it sent a shiver down his shell that she proved bold enough to touch him at all.

Maxine didn't miss the slight darkening of color on Raph's cheeks. She gave him a fairly sweet and seductive smile and started to walk towards the kitchen, leaving him standing there. She took him by surprise when she tugged the tails of his mask and pulled him around to follow her. He came along willingly enough, giving a light snort of approval as he walked behind her.

In the kitchen breakfast was finally served as Mikey set a plate down in front of everyone. Golden pancakes, crispy turkey bacon, fluffy scrambled eggs, and three large carafes of orange juice crowded the table.

"April you're so lucky to have a guy that can cook," Max said as she dug in, having to be a little aggressive because the brothers weren't being shy about getting as much food on their own plates as they could.

"Oh yeah. I'm very lucky because I can't cook anything past a Ramen noodle, some boiled eggs, and maybe toast if I don't burn it," April said right before stuffing her mouth full of pancakes.

"I think it's sexy when a man can cook," Max said and that sent a giggly hush over the table and each brother turned in Raph's direction. Said turtle turned a color that almost matched his mask and his jaw clenched.

"Well bro, I think it's time for you to learn how to do more than eat hotdogs cold out of the fridge," Mikey laughed, earning a growl and a look from Raph.

"Yeah, and more than mix up those horrendous 'protein' shakes you like so much," Donnie added taking a bite of eggs and bacon that he wrapped up in a pancake.

"Shut up!" Raph said, not quite yelling but certainly using his 'outside voice'. That sent the whole crew into a giggling fit, except for Raph and Maxine who upon seeing the upset turtle got up and went over to him. Raph flinched away at first but just a little, already turning a brighter red.

"You all leave him alone. If he wants to drink protein shakes that's fine," Max said, massaging his shoulders a little. Raph was visibly uncomfortable although he didn't so much mind what Maxine was doing. He just wished she wouldn't do it in front of his stupid brothers and his dad for crying out loud. In a huff Raph got up, pushing Max to the side a little more roughly than he intended and headed straight to his room.

"Aww man, Raaaaph!" Mikey called out but it was much too late as the slamming door could be heard clear to the other side of the sewer system.

"You know you shouldn't have started teasing him Mikey," Leo said a little too self-importantly as if he were above it all.

"Please Leonardo you were laughing at him just as much as your brothers were," Karai added not looking up from her plate.

"Exactly," everyone else added.

Asha saw Maxine sit back down with a look of rejection on her face, not knowing Raph well enough to know how to respond to this little outburst.

"Uh-uh, Max what're you doing?" Asha asked. Maxine looked confused.

"Gonna finish…eating?"

"Oh no, no. You don't ever let your man walk away in a huff. Don't you know men like to be ran after? Raph is like the epitome of wanting to be ran after. You better go get in that room and see about your man girl," Asha said, watching Max until she got up and went trudging to Raph's room.

"And pick your shoulders up. Don't look so defeated. You better make him take notice when he opens that door. Stop acting like a deer in the headlights Maxine," Asha called after her friend.

They all watched her go. Then Leo looked at Asha with a knowing look.

"Why did you send her off on that blank mission? You know Raph likes us to leave him alone after he gets mad."

"Yeah, but you're not a woman," Asha said as if that answered everything. April and Karai nodded their agreement, but the brothers and Splinter traded confused looks.

* * *

Maxine raised a timid fist to knock on Raph's bedroom door. She stood there waiting for at least a full minute before the door cracked open. Taking that as a sign, she stepped into the darkness of his room, her eyes having to adjust before she saw his hulking frame nestled in his hammock. He wasn't laying down, but miraculously sitting up and managing not to swing in it.

"'Sup?" He asked her simply and quietly. He knew he'd made a bad impression. There's no way she would want anything to do with him once she saw the real, raw and uncut, volcano-on-the-verge-of-erupting that was Raphael. Maxine sat in an old folding chair that was pushed up to his desk. She turned it around and straddled the seat, looking at Raphael brood for no reason.

"I just came in here to see if you're alright, that's all," she didn't have a witty comment ready, and wasn't sure that her particular brand of humor would be appropriate right now.

"Leo send you in here?" He scoffed, avoiding eye contact.

"No he didn't. If you wanna know who put the battery in my back and sent me over here it was Asha," she said not fighting a smile that found its way to her face. He grunted again this time a little more happily. Maxine was discovering quickly that Raphael's various grunts and snorts were as much a form of communication for him as speaking actual words. All she had to do now was distinguish their meanings depending on the intonation used.

"Listen, let's just cut this while it's still nothin'," he said suddenly. Maxine had to sit up straight. This was out of the blue and this time she couldn't tell if he were just talking or if he were angry.

"You an' me, this ain't gonna work. So you can flirt or whatever, and I'll admit it's kinda nice, but we both know you don't want me," he said with such an air of certainty. It actually made Maxine angry to be told what was what.

"You asking me or are you telling me I don't want you? Because as far as I know, only I was privy to that knowledge," Max snapped back. She didn't mean to take such a snippy tone, but she was glad to see his head snap in her direction. His muscles bristled underneath leathery skin as well, so she couldn't really read that one.

"Look, my brothers have girlfriends and that's cool for them, but I ain't them," he started, standing up now and talking with his hands.

"Leo's this big time gentleman, Donnie's smart, and Mikey's funny, but me? I ain't none of those things. I'm…"

"Raphael," she cut through the rant. He stopped and turned to her, trying to cover up the surprise in his face.

"You're not your brothers, you're Raphael," Max said standing and walking over to stand face to face with him.

"If you don't want me to know who Raphael is just say that, but don't tell me what I don't wanna do. I already like guys with hard exteriors, so there's no big whoop there and it's why Asha thought we might make a couple. I also know that you're funny, and you're a gentleman too," she said. He scoffed again, turning his head and not wanting her to see his blush.

"You are. Only a gentleman can comfort a crying naked woman and not even so much as sneak a peek," she said finally making him crack a cute smile. She loved that half smirk he did. It made her feel all kinds of ways, and think all manner of thoughts.

"Well that was different," he said absently rubbing the back of his head.

"I know a lot of human guys that would have taken advantage of my vulnerable state, but you didn't and that says a lot about you. I like what it says about you Raphael. Don't shut me out before we can see where this goes. Unless you're just not interested in me…" she said putting her head down at the sudden revelation. Maybe he was trying to tell her something and was just putting it on himself rather than hurt her feelings?

"I'm interested," he said putting both large hands on her shoulders and finally looking her in the face. He wasn't smirking or making a face. He was being very serious.

"Okay," Max said quietly. Raphael traced one large finger down the side of her face to her jawline. The half smirk made another appearance and it made her heart race.

"And just so you know, I did sneak a peek," he whispered in his gravelly voice. One more thing that Max found attractive about him. She looked up at him, a little shocked but not too much.

"Oh my goodness Raph," she giggled lightly swatting his chest.

"You got a nice ass," he whispered again this time much closer to her ear, grabbing her in one muscled arm and pulling her closer. She let out a yelp and swatted him again but didn't dare struggle against this first shows of affection between them. It seemed like he wanted to lean in for a kiss, but then there was shuffling right outside his door that they both heard.

The growl he gave off was little more than a low rumble as he turned to open his door. Just on the other side of the door was Mikey suspiciously holding an empty glass, followed closely by Donnie and Leo.

"You little twerp," Raph snarled. "I expect this kinda crap from Mikey, but not you two," he said, making sure to show Max out properly before he chased Mikey in earnest.

"It was Leo's idea," Mikey yelled as he made a beeline out of the lair. Leo smiled and feigned innocence as Raph gave him a look, then jetted after Mikey.

* * *

No one wanted to really leave the lair. The day went by quickly as everyone pitched in to get the majority of stuff unpacked. The only things left untouched were most of Donnie's things that he didn't allow anyone to handle besides him, and some of Mikey's things that no one but April was brave enough to sort through. After relaxing for a bit Casey took his leave, saying he had people to check up on.

Movie night wasn't so awkward now that all the brothers had someone to cuddle up to. All was well until Raph had the wonderful idea to put in The Howling. Mikey had a million questions throughout, asking if this or that part of the lore was true or false. Maxine showed amazing patience with Mikey's questions until Raph threatened him if he asked another.

It wasn't until Raphael suggested 'The Ghost and the Darkness' that Asha saw a trend in the movie picks. Her and Maxine traded looks.

"Maxine?"

"Yes Asha my love?"

"Do you sense a trend with these movies tonight or nah?"

"I sense a definite trend."

They both looked at Raph who couldn't hide the guilty look. As Max and Asha looked around, all the brothers were wearing the same goofy expression. Asha nodded her understanding.

"Okay, you wanna play rough?" She asked in a surprisingly good Scarface voice impression. "I got dibs on the next pick since ya'll wanna be funny."

"No one's being funny my little kumquat, just relax," Donnie said. Asha, who was sitting on the floor with him nestled with her back to his chest, turned and gave him 'the look'. Donnie cleared his throat and stared straight ahead at the screen, a smirk on his face.

"Like I said, I got next," Asha said as she turned and enjoyed the movie. When it was done Asha rushed up and loaded a movie she searched for on YouTube. No one could see what it was, but Maxine knew something because she couldn't stop snickering.

Raph tried to give her intimidating looks to shut her up, but it only made her laugh louder. When Asha was done, she sat back down with Donnie wearing an evil little grin. No one knew what they were looking at until the movie's beginning credits rolled.

"Oh come on Asha!" Donnie protested. Mikey, Leo, and Raph were just now realizing what was playing on the screen.

"That's right, Gamera. We gonna watch a movie about a giant turtle saving the world, now shut up," she said accepting high fives from Maxine and April.

"Angel cakes, whose side are you on here?" Mikey playfully whined, tickling her for punishment.

"Oh I know you're not upset Raphael," Max said as he smoothly took his arm from around the back of the couch where they were sitting.

"Put that arm back where it was," she said. He glared at her for a second, then reluctantly put his arm back. "Snuggle me like you were doing before," she demanded. He grumbled something she couldn't understand, but put his arm around her a little better.

The brothers at first grumbled, but were cheering the on-screen turtle by the middle of the movie. After that, Leo put in a romantic comedy that everybody groaned about, but allowed. By the end credits, they had all fallen asleep on it, including Leo.

* * *

Master Splinter came out of his room now that there wasn't any noise. He knew they would all be asleep. As he came into the common area he saw what he now considered his family all together. After the scare of losing Donatello, he was even more grateful to have them in his life. Every time they went on patrol he feared for their lives, but at that moment in the sinking Technodrome, he had never felt that fear as closely as he had then.

He looked at his sons, asleep each with a companion that accepted them for who and what they were, and his heart swelled in love and thankfulness for that. He knew as well as they did that peace wouldn't be peaceful for long, but right now it mattered little. Right now his family was whole. They'd made it through yet another catastrophe and they'd made it out together.


End file.
